“Hey. You okay?” Quinn joined him in the bedroom, looking a little concerned. He’d taken time to change into a long-sleeved T-shirt and sweats. “Are you going to nap?”
Cade realized he was still standing in the bedroom, hugging himself. He straightened and tried to relax his arms. “I’m okay. Just thinking.”
Quinn tugged him over to the bed and pushed him down. “Give your brain a rest and nap.”
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
God, Cade sounded like a needy piece of crap. But the thought of being on his own made him feel scared.
But Quinn smiled at him like it was no big deal and nodded. “Sure. Move over, and I’ll spoon around you.”
Cade did as he was told, and Quinn fitted his large frame around Cade’s. Quinn pressed a kiss to the nape of Cade’s neck. “Sleep for a little while. I’m here.”
Cade closed his eyes. Mogs jumped onto the bed and settled against him, purring quietly. For the first time for a long while, the fuzz in his brain eased. He felt safe in Quinn’s arms and he could sleep knowing Quinn wouldn’t leave him before he was ready.
Cade woke to the vibration of a phone. He blinked sleepily and opened his eyes to see Quinn still next to him, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, a book open on his chest and Mogs on his lap, as he reached for the phone. Quinn looked at the screen, frowned and put it back on the nightstand.
“Hey,” Cade managed.
The frown slipped away from Quinn’s face to be replaced by a tender smile. “Hi there.”
“What’s wrong?” Cade asked, rolling over onto his side to face Quinn. He didn’t know how long he’d slept but it was dark outside.
“Nothing. How are you feeling now?”
Something in Quinn’s voice made Cade think he was being evasive, but he decided he’d ask later when he was more awake. “Better. Have you been here the whole time?”
“No, I made dinner, then I came back up here to read in case you needed me.”
Cade couldn’t get over how thoughtful Quinn was. Eric would never have done the same. Maybe he was being unfair to Eric. They’d spent most of their time together going out to be seen.
“Hey.” Quinn smoothed the skin between Cade’s brows. “Why are you frowning? What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing important,” Cade said hastily. “How long have I been asleep?”
Quinn frowned as if he didn’t believe Cade but he said, “A couple of hours, that’s all.”
Cade reached up with one finger and touched the arm of Quinn’s glasses. “I haven’t seen these before.”
To his amusement, Quinn looked embarrassed. “I don’t have to wear them much when I’m working. I need them for reading. I guess I’m getting old.”
“I wore glasses as a kid,” Cade admitted, “but I got laser work done so I don’t have to wear glasses or contact lenses.”
“How cool.”
Cade grimaced. “It was part of my manager’s make-over. I got my teeth fixed too.”
“Did the others get work done?”
Cade gave him a look. “Have you seen Keith?”
Quinn gave a chuckle. “I guess not. So why did you get the full treatment?”
“They needed a front man for the band. They thought I was the right candidate. They just wanted me to look pretty. I didn’t mind. No one gave a crap about my teeth or eyes when I was in the system.”
Quinn moved the book onto the nightstand, took off his glasses, and placed them on top of the book. He shifted Mogs between them, despite her protests, and rolled onto his side to face Cade. “You’re gorgeous inside and out.”
“Do you really mean that?” Cade needed to know Quinn wasn’t just saying that because he thought it was what Cade wanted to hear.
“I don’t play games, boy.” Quinn focused all his attention on Cade. “I won’t give you false flattery. I won’t pander to you. If I compliment you, it’s because you deserve it.”
“Thank you.” And Cade meant it. He liked to know where he stood with people. He’d spent his entire life moving from home to home, walking on eggshells because he didn’t know how people were going to react. Straight-talkers were rare. Nowadays, most people lied to his face while stabbing him in the back.
“Let’s go downstairs and eat dinner,” Quinn said.
Cade wasn’t really hungry, but even after two days he knew better than to say that to Quinn. The man loved with food. Cade gasped. Where the hell had that thought come from? Quinn gave him a quizzical look and Cade shook his head.
“Just a silly thought. Let’s eat.”
“Change into pajamas or sweats,” Quinn suggested.
Cade realized he’d fallen asleep with his leathers on. “Yeah. Do I have to go out tonight?”
“No. I cleared your schedule so you can rest this evening. You’ve got publicity for the event tomorrow with the local radio stations, and you’ve got meetings with your PR guys and Louis Romero. Some guy called Joseph Holder called. I told him you’d call back.” At Cade’s grimace, he nodded. “Yeah, he sounded a bit of a prick. What does he want?”
“He wants to sponsor me.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Not if he wants to own my soul.” Cade stood and stretched. “He thinks he’s a Daddy. He’s not, but he’s convinced throwing a lot of money at me will make me cave.”
He turned in time to see a flash of something cross Quinn’s face that he recognized as anger. Quinn did not like the idea of someone else being interested in his boy.
“Is he hassling you?” Quinn demanded.
“He’s persistent,” Cade said.
He pulled out green plaid pajama bottoms and a faded, green, long-sleeved T-shirt. It was a relief to get out of the leathers. He must have been really tired not to realize he still wore them when he fell asleep.
“I’ll have a word with Mr. Holder.”
“It’s just business,” Cade said, his voice muffled as he pulled the T-shirt over his head. “I’m not interested, and he knows it.”
“He needs to know you have a Daddy.”
Oh yeah, from that growl, Quinn was pissed. Cade turned and smiled at him. “You’ll scare the crap out of him.”
Quinn walked over and cupped Cade’s jaw. “I’ll make my point.” He rasped his thumb over the bristles on Cade’s chin. “I think we both need a shave.”
Cade grimaced. “I don’t usually bother when I’m at home because my skin is so thin, but I’m meeting people tomorrow so I’d better make the effort.”
“Do you like being shaved?”
“I’ve never been shaved by anyone,” Cade said.
Quinn nodded. “I’ll shave you. I like shaving men… all over.”
Cade stared at him. “You mean—?”
“I like my men smooth.”
Cade had little enough body hair that it had never occurred to him to remove the underarm hair and the small patch at the base of his cock. “Okay,” he said, somewhat breathlessly.
“We’ll take it slow,” Quinn said. “Tonight, I’ll just shave your chin. Come on, let’s eat first.”