The Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton Page A

and looked at his friend. “What the fuck am I supposed to do without you around, man? You're my best friend."
    Kaden leaned back in his chair. “You'll get through it. The two of you will have each other."
    "Are you sure there's no alternative? Treatment? Clinical trial?” He'd gladly give up a future with Leah to have Kaden alive.
    Kaden's face hardened. He glanced at the open doorway. Leah was in the kitchen, too far to hear his low tone. “If they'd caught it a year ago, I might have considered it. Then the five-year prognosis goes up. Two years ago, I definitely would have. I'm around stage three. They'd have to cut into me to tell for sure. I told them fuck that. Where the tumor is, it's not operable according to the tests and MRI. Treatment would buy me a couple of months at the cost of what I could otherwise be doing. I will not make myself sicker just to die a little more slowly. You remember my dad."
    Seth nodded. “Okay,” he softly said.
    "I think she's still in denial right now,” Kaden said. “I really do. She's praying for a miracle."
    "She'll have to get in line behind me on that one."
    Kaden returned to a normal tone. “I want to give you a lesson this weekend with the singletail. It's the hardest to learn."
    Seth recoiled, horrorstruck. “I'm not using that on her yet! Especially not right now."
    Kaden smiled. “Relax, I didn't mean on her. Target practice. You need to get the feel for it, and I want to teach you that now, before...” He didn't finish but Seth figured he knew what he meant.
    Before he got too sick to teach him.
    Kaden changed the subject. “I'm flying to Atlanta in a couple of weeks, to the office up there. I need to put some things in order. I'll schedule it for after you're out of classes so you're home with her. She's already quit a lot of her activities even though I told her she didn't have to."
    "You didn't order her not to?” Seth knew that came out sharper than he intended. Kaden smiled.
    "Not for something like that. You'll see what it's like. I did insist she finish up that Christmas banquet fundraiser she does every year for Habitat. That's too important. Plus, she's going to need something to keep her mind off ... stuff. Oh, almost forgot.” He stood and walked to a closed armoire, opened it, and removed two books. “Reading material. Help give you an idea what's going on."
    Seth read the back covers, both books on BDSM. “This is so whacked, dude."
    "Yeah, but you're a lucky son of a bitch."
    "How the fuck do you figure that?"
    Kaden sadly smiled. “In the end, when all's said and done, you get the girl."
    * * * *
    Later that night Seth decided to go for a swim of his own. Leah and Kaden had retreated to their bedroom and Seth didn't feel like holing up watching TV in his room. Maybe it was as good a time as any to start his own exercise regimen. Wearing himself out would help him work off the apple pie he'd had for dessert and allow him to get to sleep.
    He'd been swimming a few minutes when he spotted Leah sitting on the edge of the pool, her feet dangling in the water.
    He stopped in the shallow end, near her but not wanting to get too close. He hoped she didn't want to come in for a swim. At least she was still wearing a T-shirt.
    "Couldn't sleep?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “Fucking best bed I've slept in, and I can't sleep,” he tried to joke.
    She smiled. He'd turned on the pool light, creeped out by the total darkness otherwise. He loved the way the light shimmered and reflected on her from below. “Is it okay if I sit here and watch you for a little bit?"
    He nodded. “Yeah.” Please don't ask to swim with me.
    He swam a fast pace for twenty laps, trying not to notice her sitting there. He stopped at the shallow end to catch his breath.
    "I don't think you're fat,” she said.
    He laughed. “Hellooo, left field."
    She smiled and looked at her hands. “I nearly slapped Jackie at that last Fourth of July cook out you brought her to,” she