Meeting Eric had been a stupid idea, but Cade had been desperate to get out of the house, and Quinn saying no to him riding his bike and then just walking off made him seethe. He just wanted an hour away from the house. Was that too frigging much to ask for? And then Quinn walked away. Like he was nothing.
Yeah, it had been stupid, especially after last night. He knew Eric couldn’t accept they were over. He’d gotten Eric’s call at the exact moment he wondered how he could piss off Quinn. Cade knew Eric still had things of his at his house. He’d written them off. But now Eric offered to bring them to the garden. A chance for them to talk in one of Eric’s favorite places, and for him to get his belongings. He’d blown past security, guilty and ecstatic. Even if Padraig or Jace was there, they wouldn’t be able to catch up with him.
But the moment he saw the look in Eric’s eyes, he knew he’d been foolish. Eric didn’t want to talk, and he didn’t have Cade’s possessions. What he wanted was to hurt Cade.
“Boy.”
Cade closed his eyes. Oh, thank God—Quinn was here.
Cade turned, seeing the myriad of emotions in Quinn’s expressive eyes. Yes, anger. But relief too. The relief at finding Cade was obvious. But also possessiveness. If Quinn was faking his possessiveness, he was doing a good job.
Strada, however, was not relieved. He was furious. Good.
Quinn stopped, planted his boots firmly on the grass, folded his arms across his chest, and fixed his gaze on Cade.
“Boy, come here.”
Without hesitation, Cade stumbled over to Quinn and allowed him to gather his slender body against Quinn’s broad chest. He felt a knot of tension ease as Quinn wrapped him in his arms. Tremors ran through him, and Quinn tightened his grip.
“Sometimes you’re going to have to obey me without question.”
This was one of those times.
After I screwed up, bigtime.
Yeah, after that. He’d be lucky if Quinn ever spoke to him again.
Strada glowered at Quinn. “What are you doing here? This is a private conversation.”
“Which you’re having with my boy without my permission,” Quinn said coolly.
Cade trembled again. Quinn leaned into him and Cade rested his head against Quinn’s chest. Quinn laid his cheek on top of Cade’s head. Strada’s eyes narrowed at the intimate gesture. Cade wasn’t surprised when Strada went on the offensive.
“He’s not your boy. I know who you are, and I know what you do. You’re a bodyguard. Muscle.”
Dammit, Strada had discovered their act this early. Was it his fault?
Then Strada sneered at Quinn. “All brawn and no brain. He won’t want you. He needs someone who can control him.”
Wait! A lightbulb went on. Strada knew who Quinn was. Did he think Quinn wasn’t good enough for Cade? No fucking way!
“Like you controlled me, Eric? With your fists? With your dick? Like you controlled me with blood and pain?” He trembled so hard Quinn almost lost his grip.
Strada’s expression hardened. “You’re a brat. You needed to be punished.”
“You don’t punish boys by abusing them,” Quinn snapped. “Cade was new to this. He needed love and kindness.”
“Look where that got you,” Strada said. “He would never have run off to speak to another man when he was with me.”
That stung more than it should have.
“I only came because you said you had some of my things.” Cade licked his lips. “I knew you were busy…Daddy.”
They both held their breath at the honorific.
Quinn raised Cade’s chin to force him to look into his eyes. “Strada has a point. Next time you tell me. I didn’t like finding out with a note.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed: there’d been no note, but he quickly cottoned on. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
Quinn bent and kissed him deeply, claiming him so Strada could have no doubt who owned Cade now. It was like before. Cade’s brain switched off, his whole focus on Quinn’s mouth.
Quinn raised his head. Cade whimpered at the loss of his mouth. But Quinn’s attention was on Strada. “I thought I made it clear in the bar. Stay away from Cade. Don’t call him, don’t ‘accidently’ bump into him, and don’t send him fucking flowers.”
Strada narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Flowers. Don’t send them. Ever. Leave Cade alone.”
“I haven’t sent him flowers.”
“Yes, you did,” Cade said. “You sent me black roses, two days ago.”
Eric shook his head. “I wouldn’t send you black roses. You know I hate roses. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re lying,” Cade said.
“I’m not,” Strada insisted.
Much as Cade hated the idea, he believed Eric. Suddenly his blood ran icy-cold. If Strada hadn’t sent them, who had?
He tilted his head up to look at Quinn. “Does this mean—?”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Quinn said. “Let’s go home.”
He guided Cade away from Eric without another word.
“He’s not yours,” Eric yelled after them.
“Which one of us is he talking to?” Cade muttered.
“Does it matter?” Quinn asked.
Cade thought about it for a moment. “No, not really.” He looked up to see Jace and Padraig waiting for them. “Were they here the whole time?”
“Yes. Padraig followed you.”
Cade sighed. “I wish I’d known. I might not have felt so alone and scared.”
Quinn tightened his arm around Cade. “You know we’re going to have to talk about this.”
“I was an idiot,” Cade admitted.
“Yes.”
“You know I’m a celebrity, right? Most people wouldn’t let me call myself an idiot.”
“It’s not my job to tell you what you want to hear,” Quinn said. “Get yourself a personal assistant if you want a lapdog. It’s my job to keep you alive.”
“I believed Eric when he said he didn’t send the flowers.” There was a long pause and Cade looked up to see the troubled look on Quinn’s face. “You do too?”
“Yes,” Quinn admitted. “I think he’d brag about it, not deny it.”
“That means…”
“That means we do our homework and find out who sent you the flowers.”
Cade shivered. “How many crazy people are out there?”
“Too many to count, boy, but we’re just concerned with the ones who are interested in you.”
“Talk to my manager. She keeps all the letters and informs the police of any of the extra nutty ones.”
“I’ll do that. It was on my list to liaise with your management company and PR firm today. The day’s kinda run away from me.”
Cade looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
Quinn’s expression was stern but tender. It was an intriguing combination. Cade wanted to run his fingers over Quinn’s mouth and cheeks and nose. To learn him.
“Cade?”
Cade blinked, then felt his cheeks heat. He’d been so lost in staring at Quinn he’d forgotten what they were talking about. “Uh, sorry. What did you say?”