Page 49 of Carver

He rinsed away the water and soap before preparing to move to Gideon’s chest and arms.

“The old man reminded me there was more than one way to build a family. It was the fucking strangest conversation of my life to hear him go on about surrogacy and adoption. When I’d hit puberty, he’d thrown a box of condoms at me. He figured I knew enough growing up in the club to understand the birds and the bees.”

For not saying a word, Carver could still tell Gideon was interested in what he had to say. It was obvious he paid attention to every word from the way he watched Carver so intently.

“I hate to admit how right he was. He’s probably laughing from wherever it is we go after death. While I don’t have anybody to spend my time with like that, I’m a damn good leader to these men. This was the life I was meant to live.”

Carver believed the words with his entire being. He didn’t want to picture a life where he wasn’t part of this group. A life where he had to work an office job he hated. Being an Angel saved him from that, just like it saved many others.

So distracted in his own story, Carver didn’t realize at first that it was time to wash the boy’s lower half. He swallowed thickly, putting on mask of indifference.

This wasn’t a sexual encounter with some random at a bar.

This was a traumatized young man in his care.

It didn’t matter that he was in his twenties. Without being able to speak with him or knowing his level of understanding, no consent could be given.

“Need you to stand up,” Carver rasped. “I’ll help you. Don’t need you falling.”

He gripped the boy’s elbows and helped guide him. Once he knew Gideon was stable, Carver soaped up the towel. He focused on his stomach and hips as he trailed the foaming suds over skin.His gaze trailed the path of his hands, noting every freckle, mole, and scar the boy had.

When he reached Gideon’s crotch, he froze at the patch of curls there. Fuck. This was too much.

But he knew there was no way for his boy to get clean if he didn’t help. He’d be damned if anyone else touched Gideon this way. Knowing how much Doc had already seen of him angered Carver enough. Though it was for medical intervention, Carver’s hindbrain couldn’t separate the facts.

“Keep as still as you can. I’ll be quick.”

He didn’t talk as he washed the boy. Instead, he worked to keep his movements impersonal. Gideon was a task. Not a person of interest to Carver. Not someone Carver wanted to know inside and out. Not the person who had the prez of the Angels so mixed up he couldn’t think of anyone (or anything) else.

Carver was doing fine with the entire process. Gideon didn’t get hard, even as Carver ran the towel over his length and around his balls. There was not an ounce of desire shown, which made Carver’s tense emotions unwind.

He knew how sensitive the male body could be. A strong gust of wind or a special scent could send his cock pulsing on certain days.

Then again, he still didn’t know what all Gideon had been through. There could be reasons outside of his experiences that made having an erection unlikely.

Carver breathed a sigh of relief as he picked up a fresh cloth to finish Gideon’s body. The water had turned dirty, and he refused to move from ass to feet. It was a pet peeve of his when it came to getting clean.

Reaching into the tub, he pulled up the drain to let the water out. Turning on the faucet, he went about finishing the process as he rambled on again about club life.

He felt confidence build in his chest as he scrubbed his boy’s feet. All the fear he’d had about this was silly. He could bathe Gideon and not be a perv about it. Easy stuff.

Except when he turned to look up and tell his boy it was time to dry off, he was met with a bobbing erection and wide eyes.

They stared at one another for a moment as Carver tried to figure out what this meant. When he touched Gideon there, he’d gotten no response. Yet somehow between then and washing the boy’s feet he’d become hard.

What the hell was he supposed to do with this information? And how did Gideon feel about any of it? Did he understand what was happening to his body? Or was the look in his eyes fear because he knew and hated it?

The questions piled on one after another, Carver’s heart synching to the pace. After far too long a silence, he leaned back and shook his head.

“We need to dry you off, sweet boy. Then I’ve got to talk to you about some stuff. I’d like you to listen and then we can go from there.”

Gideon nodded slowly. Carver hoped he’d find the words he’d need in the next few minutes because he was at a loss of how to handle the whole thing.

Twenty-Three

His body was doingthe thing again.

The thing she always wanted him to do but he never could.