Page 45 of Carver

“Alright then, sweet boy,” Carver said as he scooped up a bite of food. “Or should I call you little boss too?”

Gideon’s blush was worth the teasing. Maybe one day, Carver would even get to hear him laugh.

Twenty

He liked Carver.

The big, scary man was nice.

He kept his word.

He made time for things.

He protected him.

He… he cared.

Having never experienced that, at least not in a real way, it made him wonder what else Carver could teach him. What had he missed out on by being held captive?

Would Carver help him learn?

Maybe if he spoke up, used his voice, he could ask.

But could he?

Did he have the strength to try?

Twenty-One

After breakfast,Carver asked Gideon if he wanted to go back to his room. It wasn’t because he needed the boy to leave. More that he needed to verify his comfort levels. Carver refused to ignore Gideon’s feelings in favor of his own.

If he wanted to do that, then he’d have already pursued Gideon in some type of romantic way. He’d never ask his sweet boy for his opinion, since it wouldn’t have mattered.

But Carver was a better man than that. His conflicting emotions aside, he knew keeping Gideon’s wants first was the proper way to go about things.

When Gideon tapped the desk once, Carver knew the boy wanted to stay with him. It would make for an interesting day. Still, the fact Gideon chose to be out in the open—or as close to open as they were—warmed Carver’s heart.

His sweet boy was making progress.

Carver handed off their empty plates to Hex, who quickly handed them to Knight so he wouldn’t have to leave his spot. “Take these to the kitchen. Bring back waters for the Prez.”

The probie rushed away, damn near leaving skid marks with how quickly he took off. Hex chuckled as Carver rolled his eyes.

“I appreciate you looking out. You don’t have to stay on door duty all day though.”

Hex shook his head. “I know, but it only seems fair. Slayer was watching over the bedroom for y’all. Since he’s not needed there, he offered to come down and take over here.”

“Then where is he?” Carver suspected he knew the answer.

“I sent him off. You asked me to do this, and I intend to fulfill the task. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do right now.”

“You could go to work. I’m sure there's someone somewhere who could use an extra set of hands.” With the Angels in a sort of hiatus, their more legit businesses were flourishing. Each update Carver got from his men held an increasing note of enthusiasm.

While their hearts were always in the right place, their more vigilante-based jobs didn’t always pay. And the few times they did, funds were set to help maintain club business. Sure, everyone benefited from that as well. But nothing beats getting your own paycheck or having pocket money for whatever you wanted.

Hex scoffed at the notion. “I’d rather be close to you and little boss. You two are what makes this whole thing work.”

Carver nodded to the other man before closing the door again. The truth in Hex’s words stunned him. He’d not considered what Gideon meant to the club outside of being another mouth to feed. As for his personal connection, he’s probably thought about it far too much.