Page 81 of Sticks and Stones (FBI Romance/Thriller #65)

“Then let me fill you back up so we’re one and not two different people.

I want to be with you, Corbin, and it’s not because of the sex.

It’s because when I’m with you, I feel so much love.

I feel whole. What they took from you was precious, but don’t let them take us from you too.

You can fight back for that, and win. If we stay as a couple, you beat them. You didn’t break. You beat them.”

Corbin slowly wrapped his arms around the man’s waist, and held onto him.

“I hurt so bad,” he whispered. “My heart hurts so much right now. I’m lost, Will. I’m so fucking lost that I don’t know how to get back to me.”

Will would protect him.

Until.

The.

End.

“I won’t leave your side, and I won’t give up, Corbin.

You fought to get out of that dumpster and to get help.

You fought to live through that unbearable torment.

You fought to live. Now, fight for me. I promise I’ll be here to hold you together and chase away the memories of that.

I’ll carry you because I’m strong, Corbin. Love is strong. Let me show you.”

Corbin sobbed.

He let that wall down again, and he mourned what they’d taken from him, and what they’d nearly stole again.

The whole time, Will soothed him, trying to pour that love into the empty vessel to give Corbin a fighting chance.

“I don’t want to say goodbye to you, Will,” he whispered. “When they were destroying me, I thought about you, and that’s why I survived. When they dumped me broken and battered, I climbed out because I needed someone to find me so I could come home.”

Will lifted his chin with gentle fingers.

“You’re home, Corby. I’ve got you now, and I’ll take care of you.

I’ll make sure you’re okay. We’ll go to therapy, and we’ll get you better.

Just let me be by your side. Choose me one more time.

I won’t let you down. I promise. Gene and Ethan will let me stand with them to protect you.

Your family will keep you safe, and I’m family too. ”

Corbin had just enough left in him to fight a little more. So, he’d hold on and pray that Will had him. Because losing him was too much for him to handle.

“I’ll fight,” he whispered.

Will brushed his hair back from his face.

“I’ve got you, Corbin. I swear to God that I’ve got you,” he promised.

Picking up the ring box, Corbin handed it back to Will. When he saw his face, he explained.

“Hold onto this until I get back on my feet. It gives me something to work toward. It gives me a goal, and I want to get that ring more than you’ll ever know.”

Gently, he gave Corbin a soft kiss on his lips. His lower lip had stitches from being split, and looked painfully sore.

“Deal,” he said. “The second you’re back on your feet, I’m asking. Because I want to spend my forever with you.”

He knew that feeling.

When Corbin went to get up, Will was right there, and he helped him move to the couch. When he sat down, he tucked the blanket around him, and made sure he was comfortable.

“Do you need some medicine?” Will asked.

He nodded.

“I feel like shit,” he admitted. “I’m achy and everything hurts. I’d kill to soak in a hot bath.”

Will took care of him.

Like he promised.

When he sat next to him, he took his hand and held it in his to keep them connected. He was just about to ask him if he’d like a bath, but Corbin went there.

“Which one of them told you? Was it Ethan or was it Gene?” he asked, pointing at the gun lying on the table. The men didn’t leave guns around. They had to have given it to Will to protect him. “Because I don’t believe you broke into this condo.”

He gasped in fake horror.

“You don’t?”

No, he absolutely didn’t.

He knew the two men well, and this had their fingerprints all over it. Plus, they wouldn’t leave him alone.

So that meant they knew Will was here.

“Let’s just say I know how they think. Which one?” he asked. “We have a zero-lie policy, right?”

That they did.

They’d done that from the first date. So, Will came clean.

“Ethan showed up right after you dumped me, and he told me about what happened. He said you were running, and told me to get into your path. He told me that you were breaking up with me to protect me, and not because you wanted to. I had to believe him. It looks like he was right.”

Corbin listened.

When he saw Ethan, he was going to hug him. What he’d risked for him…

That was love too.

Corbin was a lucky guy. He had Gene doing battle for justice, he had Ethan making sure his heart was protected, and he had Will to hold him up.

He was grateful.

Will kept talking.

“Ethan didn’t want you to know it was him. He told me that you loved me, and that they talked you out of marrying me after our first date.”

He wasn’t shocked they told Will.

Granted, he was a little surprised it was Ethan. Of the two men, Ethan tended not to interfere in personal things. He was quiet, and obeyed boundaries.

Until now.

“He brought me back here.”

Well, he’d called that one.

“Please don’t be angry with him. He loves you a lot,” he admitted. “They both do. They are fighting for you too. I’m not the only one who is standing in front of you to give you time, they are too.”

He was aware.

“I know. They heard what happened and they came to get me. I love them so much. I’ve never had brothers, but now that I do, I know that they mean the world to me.”

Will was honest.

“I like them,” he said. “No, I love them. They have to love you if they blocked Alice. That’s brave or stupid. I’m not sure which.”

He laughed weakly.

“Don’t count her out. Right now, I imagine her surveying the building, and building a ladder big enough to get to the balcony.”

He laughed.

“Well, now she will. You put it out there.”

Corbin got quiet.

“How much did they tell you about what happened?” he asked.

Will brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles with love. They were torn up as more proof he’d fought for his life.

“He told me. I know what happened. He didn’t go into details other than how many men, and what happened after with the dumpster.”

Corbin was honest.

Since the cat was out of the bag, and he’d let Will back in, he needed him to be aware.

“It’s bad.”

Oh, he bet it was.

“I’m not leaving you when I see your body, Corbin.

If anything, it’ll make me love you more.

I meant what I said. If we never have sex again, we have this,” he said, lifting their joined hands.

“We have walks in the park, and sushi on the couch. We have movies at home, and dinner dates where we can dance in the moonlight. I’ll give up sex to have you, Corbin. I’ll give up my life to have you.”

Corbin believed him.

When he shifted, trying to get comfortable, but moaning in pain, Will was worried about him.

“What if I get you into some hot water? Do they have a shower or bath?”

Corbin wasn’t sure he wanted the man to see him naked. He wasn’t sure he could bear to see his face crisscrossed with revulsion.

So he didn’t answer.

And Will caught it.

“You can trust me, Corbin. I won’t see your injuries and run. I can’t promise I won’t see them and get so angry that I have to go find the pieces of shit who hurt my man, but I won’t betray your heart.”

He was to the point.

“I think they handled them. I don’t think anyone will see them again.”

And Corbin left it at that.

“Well, good. I’ll buy the two of them dinner, a medal, and hug them for doing that. They’re officially my heroes. You are, too, Corby. You’re tough, and I’ll never not be grateful you fought to get home to me.”

In that moment, he had to make a choice.

Hide.

Or trust Will.

“They have a shower and a jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. The guest bathroom has a shower,” he offered.

Will suspected that since Corbin had mentioned a bath. So now, he’d soak.

“Okay, let’s go get you in some hot water,” he offered. “You’ll feel better if you can soak. A bath always makes me feel better.”

This was taking all Corbin had—not the moving, but the trust it took that Will wouldn’t be sickened by his body when he saw it.

When Will helped him up, he walked with him to the men’s bedroom, and he saw Corbin’s bag there.

Grabbing it, he brought it into the bathroom, and placed it on the counter.

Then, he sat the man down on the toilet, and got the tub ready to soak.

He turned the hot water on, and he dug around in Corbin’s bag, finding him sweats and comfortable things to wear after he got out.

He found his body wash, and he squirted a few pumps into the water so it would be familiar.

So Corbin would smell himself, and feel normal.

Then, he turned, knowing it was time.

“I can leave if it’s too much for you to have me see your body. I’ll wait outside and you can call me when you’re in the water.”

He stopped him.

“No, it’s okay. You need to know. Just please don’t pity me. I can’t deal with that. I called Ethan and Gene because I knew they’d understand. I knew they’d not pity me and make me feel worse. I knew they’d seen victims and would protect not baby me.”

Will understood.

It was clear where Corbin’s line was drawn, and he’d make sure he did what he asked. Since he was the victim, he got to pick his boundaries.

“I can’t promise I won’t be angry, like I said. I want them dead for touching what is mine. I won’t pity you, Corbin, because I know how hard you fought.”

That was what he wanted to hear.

“Thank you.”

When Corbin went to take his shirt off, it was clear it hurt his shoulder and body.

“I’ll get it,” he said. “Just tell me if where I touch hurts, so I can do this as painlessly as possible.”

He nodded.

Will took his one arm, and gently pulled it from the t-shirt, and then did his other. When he lifted the shirt off of his body, he saw what they did to him.

And he got sick.

Corbin’s body was covered in bruises, lacerations from what looked like him being whipped, and marks that had to hurt. They would scar his back, and leave marks forever.

He moved behind him to survey the damage.

“It’s bad,” Corbin said.