Aftermath by Cara Dee Page B

he wanted to fuck them. With the booze flowing, however, it was easier to confess to himself that sometimes he wanted to get so close to Cam that he'd be under the man's skin. The morning he'd woken up wrapped around Cam…that had felt so fucking right . It had been thrilling as well as comforting.
    "It's too bad you're married, honey." Brian leaned close and put a hand on Austin's thigh. "I would've loved to show you some stuff."
    Austin laughed and was about to say something, but a man bumped into Brian from behind and spat out, "Get a fucking room, cocksuckers."
    "Oh!" Some of the guys around the bar erupted.
    Austin saw red, but before he could even react, a flashback nearly knocked him over.
    *
    "Finish the damn food, Cam," Austin said impatiently. "You're never going to be able to keep up your strength if you don’t eat."
    "Shut the fuck up, cocksucker."
    Austin gritted his teeth and chugged the last of his soup straight out of the bowl. It'd been like this for the past few days—ever since Cam had revealed his disorder, that Asperger whatever-it-was. Cam had been defensive, hostile, and cursing more than he usually did. He'd also returned to sitting on his cot doing nothing. No more working out, no eating properly; it was like Cam had shut down.
    It infuriated Austin as well as it worried him. If he was ever going to see his daughter again, he needed Cam to be alert. They needed strength—it always came down to that. If they dissolved into nothing, they wouldn’t be able to fight. They had to keep hoping that an opportunity would arise, and if… when it did, they had to be ready.
    More often than not, their sleep was disrupted by cries and shouts. Nightmares had become a given as soon as they shut their eyes. Chris, especially, who was still sharing his cell with a corpse.
    "Nothing to say, huh?" Cam chuckled darkly. "Maybe that means it's true. You're a cocksucker."
    Austin flew up from his cot, crossed the small cell, and yanked Cam up by the collar of his filthy T-shirt. With a furious glare, he stared down the younger man who was a few inches shorter than his six four.
    "You think acting like a high school bully makes you cool?" He tightened his grip on Cam's shirt. "You think it makes you look strong?"
    "Get your fucking hands off me," Cam seethed and grabbed at Austin's forearms. "You don’t know who the fuck you're dealin' with."
    Austin laughed and shoved him away—roughly. "I know a pathetic jerk when I see one. You want to be a dick? Fine." He looked down at Cam, who'd ended up on the floor, in disgust. "If you're so strong and smart—" leaning down, he stabbed a finger at Cam's forehead "—use that anger to do something useful instead."
    Cam said nothing; he just glared up at Austin.
    *
    Austin shook his head quickly, feeling dizzy from both the flashback and the alcohol, and got up on his feet. He faced the bastard who needed to learn some goddamn manners and seethed. "What the fuck did you just say?" Grabbing onto the bartop, he steadied himself.
    "Just calm down now," Brian cautioned. "There's always one bad egg—come on, Austin. Christina's already called the bouncer."
    "I think you heard me the first time, fag," the man said with a smirk.
    Austin Huntley had finally found a physical outlet for all his anger.
     

Chapter 9
    Cam knew how important discipline was for dogs, so if he allowed Bourbon in the bed one time, he'd have to struggle all the more later when he weighed seventy pounds. It wouldn’t be so precious to have Bourbon up there then. Also, what if he was jostled awake one night by a puppy but automatically thought it was Psycho?
    So…Cam sat on the floor right now, leaning back against the bed, and had his little puppy goofing around on his lap with a new chew toy while Cam watched a movie on the flat screen.
    The past few days had been exhausting for Cam, so this was all he wanted this Friday. Peace and quiet. Okay, that was a fucking lie; there was something else he wanted, but