All of the Voices by Bailey Bradford (little red riding hood read aloud txt) 📗

“No shit,” Carlin muttered. He reached up to pull Matt’s head down and Matt kissed Carlin roughly, unable to be gentle or tender when he’d ached so long for the man. Carlin moaned and gave as well as he took, mashing his lips against Matt’s, licking and biting until Matt’s lips stung and his dick throbbed. He finally lifted his mouth from Carlin’s and crushed the man to him.

Carlin grunted but held tightly to him. “I’ve missed you too, and yeah, we were definitely idiots.”

“So how long have I got you this time?” Matt hated to ask, but he needed to know so he could ask for the days off.

Carlin smiled at him, and Matt’s world lit up. How was he ever going to let Carlin go again? He couldn’t. “I’ll move back with you if you’ll have me,” Matt blurted and was only a little embarrassed. He was willing to drop to his knees and beg, so offering to move wasn’t hard at all.

“I thought you loved it here?” Carlin hadn’t taken him up on his offer, but that bright smile had gone up a few watts.

Matt could look at that smile for the rest of his life and never grow tired of it. “I do, or I did. I don’t know which anymore. All I know is, it’s just a place, and you, you’re…” This part was harder than he’d thought it’d be, but as Carlin stared at him with those big eyes, Matt found the words became easier to say. “You’re everything to me, Carlin Douglas. I don’t ever want you to leave me again. You may think I’m crazy, and I probably am, but you stole my heart in a few days and five months later it’s clear that I won’t ever have it back. So, you keep it, because I love you.”

Matt hadn’t thought it possible, but Carlin’s smile got even brighter. “Then it’s a good thing I moved down here, isn’t it? I love you, too. Take me home.”

Matt’s heart swelled with so much love he thought his chest might burst. He had questions, but they could wait. All that mattered now was Carlin was back and wouldn’t be leaving him again.

“I’ll finish your reports. Don’t bother coming back until you’re human again.”

Matt looked away from Carlin to the doorway where Laine stood with Doreen. Both of them were smiling.

“If y’all would get out of the way…” Matt snarled, but he grinned when he said it, all the dark anger and pain having been washed away by Carlin’s words.

“Gladly.” Laine looped his arm through Doreen’s and stepped back.

Matt was out of the door with Carlin hot on his heels before Laine or Doreen could say another word. He had to restrain himself to keep from running once they stepped outside, but Carlin laughed and didn’t bother being concerned about their dignity. Matt was nearly dragged to Carlin’s car, then Carlin was pulling open the door for him and nudging his shoulder.

“Get in already!”

Carlin sped like Satan was chasing him once they left the town proper. “I seriously doubt anyone will give me a ticket. Laine and Severo both told me you’ve been a grouch.”

Matt snorted as he grabbed the ‘oh shit’ bar when Carlin took a turn at a hair-raising speed. “Yeah well. I was nursing a broken heart, and it’s liable to be literally broken if you don’t slow down.”

“I can’t help it if I need to feel that fat cock of yours filling me up,” Carlin said but he did bring the car to a more reasonable speed.

“That’s more likely to happen now than it was five seconds ago. I was thinking we were going to end up splattered all over the road.” Matt grinned as Carlin laughed again. He sure did like to hear that. He glanced out of the passenger window then at the clock in the dash of the car. “You think you can tell me what made it possible for you to move here in less than ten minutes?”

Carlin hummed and tapped the steering wheel. “Yes, I do believe I can. Two things—or maybe it’s one person and one thing, whatever. Severo came to New York a few weeks ago. He brought brochures for two highly rated private psychiatric facilities, each of which is only an hour away.”

Matt smacked his forehead hard enough to make his vision blur. “Why the fuck didn’t either of us think of that?”

Carlin shrugged. “That’s what went through my head, too, though I didn’t try to slap my brain out like you just did. I think I was so set on keeping Dad close and in the best place possible, and it didn’t even occur to me that there might be something just as good down here. I mean, I don’t know the area, all I’ve really seen is McKinton, and there’s certainly no help here for people like Dad.”

“Remind me to give Severo a big, sloppy kiss.”

Carlin cut a mean glance at him. “A ‘thank you’ will keep you from having me or Laine finish knocking your brain out of your head.” Carlin looked back out of the windshield. “So Severo found two places and both were every bit as good as where Dad was in New York. One of them had an opening, and now Dad is settled in and seems to be adjusting well. I spent a week in Fort Worth seeing to that. I didn’t want to come here and proclaim my intense love for you, then have to turn around and leave again.”

“I’d have followed you in a heartbeat. And the ‘thing’ that helped bring you here?”

“Conner,” Carlin said succinctly. “You got visits from Aunt Mary—where is she, by the way?”

Matt had grown so used to the familiar oatmeal and raisin scent that he hadn’t realized it wasn’t surrounding him now. “I don’t know, maybe she’s giving us some time to talk.”

“Maybe. Anyway, Conner was apparently lingering around and telling Severo what a