Four Ever, page 19
But I didn’t exactly know what the that was. I was trying to attribute it to having been so long since Zak and I had really made love, but my gut was telling me that wasn’t the only factor.
As it was, I forced all of that to the back of my mind as I flew down the stairs. I assumed Noah was having another nightmare, but when I got to the living room with Zak right behind me, all I saw was Liam.
On the floor.
He was holding his head and trying to climb to his feet. There was a trickle of blood coming from his temple.
“What happened?” I said as Zak and I reached him. Liam tried to push us away.
“You have to go after him!”
“Noah?” I asked as I looked around the room.
“I think he ran out the back door! Go, you have to find him!”
“Go,” Zak said. “I’ll stay with him.” Zak was already in the process of lifting Liam’s hand so he could examine the cut that was there. “Stay put,” he said when Liam tried to get up again. I could see a little bit of blood on the carpet by the leg of the coffee table.
“I tried to wake him. It was an accident. I lost my balance and fell… I think he was still sleeping or something when he took off,” Liam said, clearly in pain.
“I’ll find him,” I said as I climbed to my feet and rushed to the back of the house. The back door in the kitchen was wide open so I didn’t even bother checking the guest room first. Waldo, Blueberry, and Skittles were still on their perches but squawking nervously. I could see Waldo trying to jump off his, presumably to follow after Noah. I shut the door behind me as I ran outside because I didn’t want to risk the birds getting out. I scanned the darkness and immediately thought about how scared Noah must be.
“Noah!” I called, though I didn’t really expect him to answer me. I headed for the barn, thinking he’d found a spot to hide with Nana, but then I heard a high-pitched barking sound.
I knew that bark.
It was Bentley.
And it was the sound he often made when he found some injured critter in the woods.
“Please,” I whispered to myself as I followed the sound. We lived in a heavily wooded area that Noah could easily get hurt or lost in. And if he was asleep like Liam suspected, he might not respond to my calls in any kind of way.
Thank fuck Bentley had stayed downstairs and followed Noah out of the house. Most of the other dogs usually slept in the bedroom with me and Zak.
Pain cut into my feet as I ran barefoot through the woods. It was early November, so the weather had already started to get close to the freezing mark overnight. There was a heavy layer of mist, so within a minute, my skin felt chilled. Branches tore at my skin as I weaved in and out of the trees. The moon was bright enough to help guide me, but I knew without Bentley, the chances I’d find Noah in the darkness were slim to none.
It took me a few minutes to zero in on Bentley’s bark and thankfully, it didn’t appear to be changing position. I found the dog near a slow-running stream that I knew was a good quarter mile from our property. I didn’t see Noah at first, so I had a moment of panic that Bentley hadn’t found the young man after all. But then Bentley shifted, and I saw a flash of white among some heavy brush a few dozen feet from the stream.
I moved slowly because I didn’t want to scare Noah. “Noah, it’s me, Killian,” I said as I approached him. I could see that he was lying in the fetal position. He had one hand pressed over his ear and was using the other to cover his mouth. His eyes were squeezed shut.
He made no sound whatsoever.
“Noah,” I breathed as I bent down next to him. He’d tried to dig himself into the thick brush, but the leafless branches did nothing to hide him from view. He was covered in small cuts because, like me, he’d left the house in just his underwear.
Bentley kept trying to lick Noah’s face to get a response out of him, but Noah didn’t react except to roll himself into a tighter ball.
I realized Liam had been right… Noah was likely still asleep.
I wasn’t sure what to do since all the other times he’d had nightmares, he’d woken up on his own. But the one thing that was clear was that I needed to get him out of there. He was shaking violently from the cold.
“Noah, baby, we need to go back to the house, okay?” I said as I reached out to touch his arm. He didn’t pull away, but like with Bentley, he tried to curl himself into a tighter ball. I used my hands to try and break off some of the branches surrounding him, then slid my palms beneath him as best I could. He let out a little whimper when I lifted him.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” I murmured as I pulled him against my chest and carefully stood. He wasn’t very heavy and once I had us upright, it was easier to carry his weight as I got him settled in my arms. His skin felt ice cold against mine. He had one arm curled against his chest. His free hand was pressed over his ear again and he was using my body to shield his other ear. The only sounds around us were the creak of the wind through the trees, the rustling of the leaves around us, and the trickle of the stream, so I had no idea what sound it was that he was trying to drown out.
I knew if I followed the stream, it would lead to a narrow trail that would take us back to the house. I walked as quickly as I could because I knew Zak and Liam would be going crazy with worry and, more importantly, I needed to get Noah warm. Bentley trotted ahead of me but never went farther than a few feet.
It was a good minute after I’d picked Noah up that I felt the way he was holding himself change. Noah began to whimper as he shifted in my arms.
I knew he was finally awake.
“It’s all right, Noah, I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
I had no clue if Noah remembered what had happened or not, but suddenly he began to cry – big, heartbreaking sobs. He curled into my chest and wrapped his arms around my neck. I lifted him a little higher so I could kiss his temple. I could feel tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
“It’s okay, baby. Gonna get you home and we’re going to take care of you… me, Liam, and Zak. We’ll figure all this out.”
I could feel his hot tears spilling down my throat but thankfully, he nodded against my neck.
I quickened my pace and kept murmuring encouraging words to Noah that we were almost home.
I could hear Zak and Liam calling out for both of us as I neared the house. “Here!” I called. “I have him! He’s safe!”
Zak and Liam reached us as soon as we cleared the woods.
“Noah, baby?” Liam whispered as he reached out to put his hand on Noah’s forehead. Liam looked unsteady on his feet. I could still see blood on his temple. There was a towel in his hand that had blood on it.
I kept us moving toward the house. Zak reached around me to put his hand against Noah’s skin. “We need to get him warm.”
I nodded. Zak took Liam by the arm and practically dragged him to the back door. When I entered the house with Noah still in my arms, Zak was holding the door open and trying to get Liam to put the towel back on the cut on his head.
“Our room,” I said as I hurried past both of them. I got Noah into our bedroom and then headed straight for the attached bathroom. I set him on the vanity. He wrapped his arms around himself. When he saw Liam enter the room, the sobs he’d managed to control started all over again. Liam took him in his arms but kept him sitting on the vanity.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Liam said gently as he held him. Zak quickly began examining all the cuts on Noah’s body as I got the water in the shower going.
“They’re all superficial,” Zak said to me. “I’ll treat them afterwards.”
I nodded and put my hand on Liam’s back. “Let me take him, Liam. I’ll start getting him warm while Zak fixes you up.”
“No, I… he needs me.”
“We’ll be right here,” I said to Liam as I cupped his face so he’d look at me. He looked terrified.
My heart squeezed painfully when I saw the silent plea in his eyes.
“We’ll take care of him,” I said. “All of us, okay?”
Liam hesitated, then nodded. To Noah he said, “Go with Killian, okay, baby? I’ll join you in just a second.”
I put my arms around Noah and lifted him again so he wouldn’t have to walk on his scratched-up feet. Zak opened the shower door for me. Noah whimpered when the warm water hit him. My own skin stung as the water came into contact with my chilled flesh, so I could only imagine how uncomfortable it was for Noah. “It’ll get better in a minute, sweetheart.”
We were both still wearing our underwear, but I didn’t really care about the dirty material getting wet. All that mattered was warming Noah up. I sat down on the built-in bench in the shower, which put Noah in the direct path of the shower spray. He was tense in my arms for several minutes until his skin began to lose some of its chill and the water became comforting rather than painful. I could see Liam and Zak sending us worried glances as Zak worked to close the cut on Liam’s temple with butterfly bandages. When he was done, Liam hurried to join us in the shower. Fortunately, it was big enough for all three of us. I stood up with Noah in my arms and urged Liam to sit, then placed Noah in his arms, since I didn’t want Noah’s feet to come into contact with the floor. I used the handheld sprayer to carefully wash Noah’s feet as Liam cuddled him. I couldn’t hear what Liam was saying to him, but his words calmed Noah further and within minutes, the young man was asleep again.
To Liam I said, “I need to take his underwear off, okay? You can wash him and make sure there aren’t any serious cuts anywhere that we haven’t already checked.”
“Okay,” Liam said. He and I worked together to carefully maneuver Noah until I got the underwear off. I handed Liam the handheld sprayer and then quickly stripped my own boxers off. Zak was ready with a towel for me when I got out of the shower, along with a pair of sweats.
Once I had them on, I opened the shower again and said, “I’ll take him while you get cleaned up.”
Liam carefully stood and handed Noah off to me. I sat Noah on the vanity again. He’d woken up a bit, but was still drowsy so as Zak examined him, I let Noah rest his forehead on my shoulder and I kept my arm around him. By the time Zak was finished drying him and treating the cuts, Liam was out of the shower. I picked Noah up and carried him to our bed. Zak pulled the covers to the side so I could lay Noah down. I wasn’t surprised to see Zak holding Liam’s hand on the opposite side of the bed. As strong as Liam was, he was clearly rattled by what had happened. Zak urged Liam to get in the bed from his side as I laid Noah down. Liam automatically moved to the middle where I’d put Noah and pulled him into his arms.
My intent had been to leave the couple in the bed while Zak and I kept an eye on them from the small sitting area by the picture window, but Noah grabbed my hand when I made a move to release him.
“Zak and I will be right here in the room the whole time, Noah,” I said. “You and Liam are safe.”
Noah turned his head to look at me. His eyes were swollen from crying and his face was covered in little nicks and cuts. I could see a bruise forming on his jaw. He shook his head briefly, then tugged my fingers until he had them pressed against his chest. I looked up at Zak. He nodded quickly and then climbed into the bed on Liam’s side. Our bed was a king-sized one, but it was still a tight fit when I lay down behind Noah. He was still holding my hand against his chest, so I fitted my body against his back. Liam was holding Noah in his arms, so my hand was actually pressed between both of them. Zak curled up against Liam’s back and I saw Liam close his eyes. He reached up to touch Zak’s fingers where they were resting on Liam’s shoulder.
Zak put his mouth down by Liam’s ear. “It’s okay, Liam. Just sleep. We’ve got you both, okay?”
“Okay,” Liam choked out. The young man’s exhaustion and fear broke my heart. I hadn’t witnessed Noah’s reaction when he’d had his nightmare, but my heart was still pounding from the sight of him curled up among those bushes as he tried to make himself as small as possible. As Liam’s eyes drifted shut, I looked up at Zak. He briefly lifted his hand from Liam’s shoulder so he could cup my cheek. He didn’t say anything.
He didn’t need to because I was certain he and I were on the same page.
None of what was happening made sense, but for the moment, we were all exactly where we needed to be.
Chapter Twenty-two
Zak
It was a small sniffling sound that woke me up, which, after the night’s events, surprised me because I’d been sure I wouldn’t have even been able to fall asleep. The nurse in me had been too concerned about both Liam and Noah to relax. I’d checked their pulses throughout the night and even though Liam had sworn to me that he hadn’t lost consciousness when his head had hit the coffee table, I’d still woken him up a few times throughout the night to make sure he wasn’t showing signs of a concussion. Fortunately, Noah hadn’t had another nightmare and he’d slept through the entire night as far as I could tell, but I suspected Killian hadn’t gotten much sleep either. I’d looked over at him a few times and had seen him watching me or watching our unexpected bed partners. We’d left one of the bedside lights on its lowest setting for Noah, so I’d been able to see Killian’s expression.
He’d been in thinking mode.
Cop mode.
I didn’t blame him. I was just as desperate to understand what was driving Noah’s behavior. As we’d searched for Noah and Killian the night before, Liam had told me that Noah hadn’t ever done any kind of sleepwalking before. In fact, he’d never had as many nightmares in such a short amount of time before, either. Noah hadn’t spoken again since the previous night when he’d said Liam’s name and then asked me and Killian to stay. That definitely had me wondering what was driving his mutism. While I hadn’t expected him to just start talking up a storm, I’d been surprised that he hadn’t at least said Liam’s name again.
But I instinctively knew the sniffling sound was him.
I was still in the position I’d been in most of the night… pressed up against Liam’s back. I opened my eyes to see that Noah was awake. He was facing Liam with Killian at his back. Killian’s eyes were closed, as were Liam’s.
Noah was staring at the cut on Liam’s temple. He reached up his fingers like he was going to touch the bandaged injury, but then pulled them back. I noticed that Killian’s big hand was spread across Noah’s chest and Liam’s hand was resting on his hip. He was pretty much sandwiched between the two larger men, and I couldn’t help but think how right he looked there.
Noah’s eyes met mine.
“He’s not hurt badly, Noah.”
Noah pointed at himself, then Liam’s head.
My stomach sank as I realized what he was inadvertently revealing by asking the question.
He didn’t remember the events of the night before… at least not the part where his nightmare had caused Liam to fall and hit his head.
“No, baby, you didn’t,” Liam murmured. “It was my fault. I slipped and fell while I was trying to wake you up.”
Noah dropped his eyes to Liam. They began to fill with tears. He clearly didn’t believe his lover.
“Noah,” Liam whispered sadly, then he leaned in so he could kiss Noah softly on the lips. “All that matters is you’re okay. Do you hear me?”
I could see Noah was on the verge of losing it, so Liam kissed him again.
And again.
He kissed him harder and deeper until Noah could do nothing but return his kisses.
Fervently.
I could feel my body responding to the sight and I knew I should get out of the bed, but my body refused to listen to the commands my brain was sending it. I looked up to see that Killian had woken up and was supporting his head with his free hand so he could watch the two younger men. His hand was still on Noah’s chest. His eyes were filled with hunger as he watched Liam and Noah kiss. Then he was looking at me. We somehow managed to lean across both men so our mouths could fuse together. Killian’s tongue swept into my mouth and took ownership. The hand that had been on Noah’s chest cupped the back of my head as he held me in place. When we finally separated, our upper bodies were practically lying on top of the young men between us.
And they were now the ones watching us hungrily.
I couldn’t say which one of us acted first, me or Killian. But when his eyes met mine and I saw the same need in his that I knew was in mine, I just knew. I didn’t question it, though I knew I would later.
I just acted.
So did Killian.
As my eyes shifted to Liam, I heard him let out a little rush of air. Then his hand was snaking up to curl around the back of my neck. I swallowed his moan of satisfaction when our mouths met. His lips were softer than Killian’s, but his kiss was just as confident, as domineering as my lover’s. He welcomed my tongue eagerly into his mouth, then he was pushing into mine.
Tasting.
Licking.
Sucking.
The kiss was hot and wet and needy, and the only reason I broke it was because of the little whimpers I heard coming from the other side of the bed.
Killian was kissing Noah gently, letting the younger man adjust. The sight of my lover tasting another… tasting Noah… made my heart explode with joy. They were so fucking gorgeous together, and I loved knowing that Noah was the lucky recipient of Killian’s giving mouth. I loved the way Noah’s confidence quickly grew and he started kissing Killian more insistently.
When Killian broke the kiss, the pair stared at each other as if both were stunned by whatever they’d felt, then Killian looked at me. I heard a growl deep in his throat as he lunged forward to snag my mouth again. His kiss was rough and needy and impatient. When we ended the kiss, Killian was left leaning over Liam. Fire shone in both their eyes. Liam was the one who lifted up on his elbows so he could claim Killian’s mouth. Their kiss was greedy and a clear battle of wills. Killian won, but I couldn’t say Liam was really the loser because I knew what the magic of Killian’s mouth was doing to him. My morning erection became uncomfortably painful. I reached beneath the blanket to try to ease some of the discomfort by rubbing my dick. I twisted my hips away from Liam so that I wouldn’t scare him, but his hand stole over my hip and gripped me hard, keeping me in the position.
