Page 39 of My Best Friend Is Broken

“Nightmare?” I mumble.

“Yeah.”

He wriggles even closer. The smell of sandalwood washes over me. He must have used my body wash, and I have no fucking idea why that feels so delightful. Did he want to smell like me? Do I give him that much comfort? If that’s the case, then it’s the proudest achievement of my entire life.

He moves again. Settling in. It is the small hours of the night, and sleep is pulling me back under.

Liam freezes. Realization hits me hard enough to blast all the sleepiness away.

“Shit. Fuck. Sorry!”

I start to recoil away from him, but his arm wraps around my back, holding me close. Pressing my erection against his stomach.

I open my mouth to spew out apologies and explanations, but Liam’s hoarse whisper cuts through the air.

“Do it.”

“Do what?” I babble.

“Fuck me.”

“What the hell Liam? No!” I try to pull away. But Liam has a death grip on me, and even with all the horror flooding my veins, I don’t want to be rough with him.

“I think it will work.” Liam’s voice is calm. Cold. Almost icy.

“What are you talking about?”

“It will make me feel safe.”

I stop trying to prise myself free. “Liam… I don’t understand.”

“You are all manly now.”

Is he still dreaming? Is that what is going on? “I haven’t filled out that much.”

He shakes his head and his hair tickles my nose. I wish I could see his face, but maybe it is better this way. Easier to whisper truths in the dark.

“It’s not just muscle,” he says softly. Pressed so close to me that his breath caresses over my shoulder. “It’s presence. The way you carry yourself. You are clearly confident. Capable.” His voice drops even lower. “Dangerous.”

My stomach twists. I don’t know what to say to that, so Isay nothing at all.

“To me, you will always be Nicky. To the rest of the world, you are Nicolo.” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “If you claimed me, made me yours, I would feel safe.”

My lungs hiss in a sharp inhale. “Liam, you are…”

“Crazy? Tell me something I don’t know.”

My mind flounders as I try to catch some of my thoughts and form them into words.

“We tried sensible,” Liam says calmly into the dark of my bedroom. “The doctors didn’t help. Medication isn’t doing fuck-all. The sensible options have been useless.”

I want to blurt out something about time and early days. I need to say something calm and rational. But the words just won’t come. I’m holding Liam in my arms, and I simply don’t want to talk.

“Your friend Dante said I was pretty,” Liam says. “Then you told him to back off. You said I was under your protection, and I haven’t thought about Dante until just now. He didn’t haunt my dreams. You made me feel safe.”

I lick my lips. “What are you asking, Liam?”

“I’m asking you to fuck me and make me your bitch. Put me under your protection so I know no one else can hurt me.”