Free The Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton

stared at him, horrified. “Dude, you're not dead yet! Please, don't rush things.”
    Kaden sadly smiled. “I decided the easiest way for me to get through this is to rearrange my thinking a little. It makes it easier that way. When I'm gone, she's going to be your wife. Right now, she's not my wife anymore, she's not yours. She's ours.”
    “You are fucking whacked. Even for a goddamned attorney.”
    Kaden laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I'll be honest, when I thought about it that way, something inside me was okay with it. I felt so fucking jealous and angry that you'll have all these years with her that I won't. I knew I had to get through that somehow, because she needs me to teach you and I can't let my ego get in the way of that. When I thought about her being ours...” He wiped his eyes again. “Yeah, it's fucking whacked. Give me what I can hold onto, buddy. Okay?”
    Seth nodded. “Okay.”
    Kaden helped Seth get his books and a few other things he needed and put them in the Ridgeline. It felt weird driving it, even though he'd driven it before.
    It felt...
    He shuddered.
    kaden'sdying
    * * * *
    His sister-in-law had the day off from work. When Seth walked into the kitchen, Helen turned, smiled, then her face fell. “Seth? What's wrong?”
    He sat at the table, his head in his hands.
    “Kaden's dying,” he sobbed.
    He barely felt her comforting arm around his shoulders as he cried.
    * * * *
    Somehow, Seth made it through class. Helen helped him pack when he returned. He didn't tell her everything about their new arrangement, only that Kaden and Leah had asked him to move in with them because of the obvious, that he wanted Leah to have help with him as his illness progressed. He did hint that Kaden was worried about Leah's state of mind and wanted Seth there to take care of her as much as to take care of him.
    Helen looked sad. “They're so sweet. You guys have been friends for so long. Ben will be upset to hear about Kaden.”
    “I don't know how many people he's telling right now. Tell Ben not to tell anyone yet, okay?”
    She nodded. “Right.”
    When all his stuff was crammed into the Ridgeline, Helen hugged Seth. “Give us a call, don't be a stranger.”
    “I appreciate you guys putting up with me. I feel like the neighborhood stray dog everyone takes pity on.”
    “Hey, don't be hard on yourself. You've had a rough time. I'm sorry about Kaden.”
    He struggled not to cry again. It'd been hard enough to hold it together during class. He didn't want to break down in front of Leah and Kade.
    “Thanks.” It was after four when he started for their house. Halfway there, he pulled into a Publix parking lot and cried again. How was Leah holding it together? He was a fucking wreck.
    After twenty minutes he put himself together and pulled into their driveway a little after five. Kaden walked out, smiling, as Seth backed up to the garage. He already had the tailgate down by the time Seth climbed out.
    “Glad to see you, buddy. I sort of worried you might have second thoughts.”
    Seth snorted as they started unloading boxes into the garage. “I did. And third and fourth and fifth but I guess you're stuck with me. God only knows why you want me.”
    Leah walked outside wearing her collar and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, much to Seth's relief. Her sad smile and welcoming hug set something spinning inside him.
    “I'll take your clothes and get them unpacked for you.” He handed her a suitcase and one of the several garbage bags holding his clothes. She took them inside.
    “That's why I want you,” Kaden said in a low voice. “That woman right there. She needs you.”
    Kaden helped Seth get the rest of the boxes neatly stacked in the garage while Leah took care of all his clothes. His ex wife had ended up with the house and furniture. To avoid bankruptcy, he'd sold off everything relating to his business. That left him with a beat up Mustang and what was now sitting in Kaden's garage, mostly