In the end, Colin finally met Taron’s gaze, but his own was sharp as ever. “You actually think this explains what you’re doing to me?”
The harshness behind his words was worse than the slap had been. Taron hadn’t told anyone this story since its aftermath, but he so desperately craved for Colin to understand that he’d bared it all.
Colin swallowed hard, and tore the page in two. He then put the two halves together and tore them again, never looking away from Taron as he minced his soul with this simple gesture. “There is no us. I told you what I want, and you still bent me to your will by force. You don’t trust me. You don’t even respect me. I don’t want to be around you. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I hate you.”
Taron watch the pieces of paper float to the floor. His heart went numb. This was exactly why he’d avoided relationships with people. It felt needy to ask, but he still did.
Colin swallowed but kept up the eye contact, despite his brows lowering. “Are you really asking me if I want to be with a man who abducted me, kept me in a cage and doesn’t listen when I tell him I need a doctor?’
Taron hung his head. It seemed the honeymoon period was over. He should have never let Colin steal his heart.
He said nothing and picked up the shredded paper. He would manage this somehow.
He always did.
He’d been fine on his own.
Chapter Seventeen
If there was a zombie apocalypse, the bunker would have been the perfect hideout. Well-hidden, supplied not only with dry food but also means to grow more produce. First and foremost—safe. They could stay underground for at least three years, and if it became necessary to leave it all behind, Taron would have surely been the perfect companion to have on your side.
Brave, strong, and resourceful, he would have made sure nothing bad happened to Colin. He knew how to forage, how to filter water, how to make a fire… And if, by any chance, Taron got bitten by a zombie, Colin would have been there to amputate the limb and save him.
It wouldn’t have been so bad to face the cruel world together.
And in that kind of hypothetical scenario, Colin would have understood, appreciated even, Taron’s ability to treat a fractured leg. But they weren’t under siege by brain-hungry monsters, and no matter how much he liked the bunker and had enjoyed Taron as his man, Colin should have been taken to the hospital.
And two weeks on, he was still worried about how his limb would heal, still imprisoned and collared. This might as well have been a reinterpretation of Stephen King’s Misery if it wasn’t for the fact that Taron didn’t demand anything from Colin, and for the most part just let him be. Colin refused to speak to Taron or otherwise acknowledge his existence, beaten down and hurt after the disastrous afternoon when one of Taron’s snares had broken his leg, but Taron still tried to get some brownie points by cooking Colin’s favorite meals and bringing him interesting books. Following his latest trip to town, he even brought Colin some superhero-themed DVDs
All of this would have been adorable if their relationship were voluntary and based on mutual respect, not force.
One of the luxuries afforded Colin was taking hot baths. Down in the bunker, with one of his legs hanging out of the tub, Colin enjoyed the tranquility of being alone. Of course, the injury meant that he needed Taron’s help to enter the bath, and his touch had only agitated Colin further. Why was it that after two weeks of celibacy, even Taron’s scent made Colin think back to all the sex they’d had in the past? A man like Taron didn’t deserve to star in Colin’s fantasies.
But here Colin was, thinking of long days and nights under Taron’s heavy, strong body, of his rough hands that could be so gentle, of the intensity in his green eyes that spoke of a hungry desire Colin had never experienced in a world where sex was plentiful.
He submerged his head until all he could see was the trembling surface above. The bath was getting cold, but the sense of peace it gave him was something he didn’t want to give up just yet. Days in Taron’s presence were slowly becoming unbearable, and the silence that he himself enforced choked Colin whenever they were in the same room. But what was he to do? He did not want to fall back into a guy who didn’t really care for him and who refused him the necessary medical care for selfish reasons.