Jude patted his ass, chuckling. “You’re flying high, aren’t you?” He sat down in the chair next to the bed. “So where is the bullet hole?”
“S’not a hole,” Shane muttered, finally pulling his gaze back to Jude and aware that he might be slurring. Just a little bit. “It’s a graze on the back of my thigh. Hit z’muscle only. It’s not bad at all. They’re even sending me home tonight.”
“How about you stay with us over the weekend? You could probably use some extra hands, so you can lie flat a couple of days.”
“Nah, I’ll call my dad.” Shane’s gaze went back to Quinn, who stood quietly by the door and he smiled at him as the room spun a bit. It must have been a weird smile, because Quinn sucked in a breath and Jude turned to give Quinn a closer look. Shane didn’t give a shit what anyone saw. He was just so happy Quinn was there and he wished he’d come closer. Before he realized what he was doing, he was crooking his finger to beckon him over.
“I’ll help him,” Quinn said quietly. “I’ll stay at his place and take care of him this weekend.”
“Oh, you will?” Jude turned back to Shane and waggled his eyebrows.
Shane ignored him because Quinn had come closer and put his hand on the small of Shane’s back. He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling better just with the man’s touch. “I like this idea,” he said half into the pillow as drowsiness rose up so fast, he started spinning behind his eyelids. “I like that you’re not stillmadat…me,” he slurred as he dropped off.
Shane didn’t remember a lot about the next few hours other than his father showing up and Quinn yelling at Snow—something about his medication. All he got out of it was they had to switch out those lovely painkillers because he had some sort of reaction that had Snow and Jude both jumping into the fray.
The next time he woke, he was in his own bed in his room and Quinn was stretched out next to him, softly snoring. He rolled over and swung his legs to the edge of the bed, wincing when he felt the pull of the stitches on his thigh. Lights from the city came in through the glass door to his balcony. He always left it uncovered because the room would be pitch black with the two, full brick walls and the lack of windows. The soft glow was a nice reminder of where he lived. He loved this section of the city. Right now, he liked the light because he could see Quinn.
Looking over his shoulder, he sighed, wanting to cuddle back against him, but his bladder had other ideas. He took care of business, grabbed a water to hopefully wet the desert in his throat, and walked back into his room only to stop at the end of the bed.
Norma Jean had stolen most of Quinn’s pillow, forcing him to cock his head to the side, which didn’t look all that comfortable since he was sprawled on his back. Half his face was squished into her side and her purr was loud enough to shake the room. It should have awakened the man, but it hadn’t. Shane took a moment to admire how good he looked in his bed, his long legs sprawled and bare since he wore only boxers with one of Shane’s T-shirts. He’d talked about not enjoying exercise, but it hadn’t hurt him at all. His body was on the thin side, but Shane really liked it. A lot. Liked his long, slim legs with their surprisingly thick calves. He liked his narrow hips and the trail of dark hair under his belly button he could see because the shirt had ridden up.
And for some reason, he absolutely loved seeing the man wearing his clothes. He couldn’t even describe the thrill it gave him without using words like “mine” and “boyfriend,” and he couldn’t really compute how that made him feel—especially because he’d never felt that way before. The closest he’d come to wanting a relationship had been with Jude and even then, he’d known it would never work forever because Jude had needed something in the bedroom that Shane never had. He didn’t mind dominance play and loved it on occasion, but it wasn’t something Shane necessarily had to have. For Shane, it was play and for Jude, it was something deeper.
Jude may not have gone out looking for that, but his need for it was embedded in his personality as much as his two heritages were. Shane had never seen anyone more perfect for his friend. Snow had the domineering personality, but he also had that wounded needy side that tripped every one of Jude’s protective buttons. He was honestly happy for his friend.