Epilogue
“Would you… hold still?” I try to hold Buddy down to wrestle her into the costume I’ve prepared for her. She tries to bite at the cardboard pieces I’ve glued to a harness.
“No!” I giggle, only getting one side on before I hear someone at the door. I jump up, pretending like I’m messing with the food on the counter.
It’s Gage and Axel’s birthday today. I’ve spent the day decorating and preparing, nervously bustling from one task to another. They’re going to think it’s so stupid.
“Honey, I’m home,” Axel yells from the front door. There’s a silence, and then he stalks into the kitchen. “Hey, little bird. What have you been doing?”
I keep mixing the salad, and he comes up behind me, putting his chin on my shoulder.
“Happy birthday,” I say.
There’s a pause, then Axel bites my neck gently. “Thank you.”
While he and I aren’t the sappy types, we’re both getting far more comfortable with expressing emotion around each other.
The front door opens again, and I hear Gage walk in. I glance over to see Buddy dancing at his feet, her costume half falling off.
“What’s this?” Gage looks confused, then laughs at the dog.
I groan, slapping my hands over my cheeks. “That wasn’t the whole thing. She wouldn’t let me get the costume on.”
“It looks… good!” Gage says, a smile creeping at the corners of his mouth. He stalks up to me in dark slacks and a button-up, turning my face to his and planting a kiss there.
“She’s supposed to be a rhinorse,” I mutter.
Gage’s mouth parts, then his gaze softens. “Raven… that’s…”
“Stupid, I know.” I turn back to the salad.
“Really sweet,” Gage finishes, turning my face again to kiss me. His kiss is soft at first. Almost reverent. Then, he kisses me harder, gripping my face and pulling me into him. It leaves me breathless, and I pull away, cheeks heating. “Dinner is ready if you guys want to eat.”
“Dinner?” Axel sounds excited.
“Pizza.” I motion at the dining room, then look at Gage. “And steak. Although I’m not sure if I did it right.”
“Oh my god.” Gage is grinning.
“Sit down,” I hustle him to the dining room. As long as I can stay busy serving them, the burning flush on my cheeks will stay down.
Both boys settle in, and I notice they’ve worn the same outfit today.
Fitted black shirts with dark slacks and dark glasses.
The dark colors bring out their pale features in a way that makes them look frosted over.
They look hot. Like they always do. I do have to do a double-take, ensuring they both sat in their respective spots.
If possible, the men have only gotten hotter over the last few months.
They’ve both been getting to know me in their own ways, fighting over which nights are theirs to take me on dates and, sometimes, taking me out together.
They both also help with my future bookstore.
Axel assists with the business and sales aspects, while Gage handles the legal and accounting matters.
I’m going to call it Buddy’s Books. It’s stressful as fuck.
There are all kinds of things that go into owning a business that I had no idea about.
Even today, it was tough to pull myself away to make this dinner.
The boys motion for me to sit between them, as has become our custom. Axel on the left, Gage on the right. I’m sure they decided to do that so they could both feel me up while we eat, as they both do. Often.
As the boys load up their plates, I notice the subtle attention both of them are paying me. The way their bodies lean toward me and how when I reach for a slice of pizza, their heads follow the movement.
They dig in, and I take a few bites, but I was grazing as I cooked. This meal is about them, not me.
I eye the steak. It looks dark. Did I cook it too long?
“Gonna eat that?”
I glance up to see both of them still eyeing me.
“Oh, yeah.” I wave them off, then pick up the pizza and take a bite.
It’s mostly to appease them. I wonder if the paperwork I filed earlier went through.
I haven’t heard back from the state at all.
I find that the stress the business brings makes me less interested in food and more interested in solving every problem right as it pops up.
This is my first time being self-sufficient.
It means I don’t have to rely on anyone financially, even though the boys would never let me suffer. But I want this for myself.
Gage reaches out and shoves my plate towards me. I blink. I must have zoned out.
“Is the steak okay?” I ask.
“Delicious,” Gage says on my right. “Now try some.”
“Nah, I ate while I was cooking,” I shrug.
Silence. Then, Gage’s low voice drones, “Did you just ‘nah’ me?” His voice is unbothered, but the quiet heat behind it has me stiffening.
I glance to my right, narrowing my eyes at him.
“She definitely did.” Axel’s hand drops heavily onto my thigh on my other side.
“Wanna rethink that?” Gage asks, his look hooded. There’s a flash of something before it’s gone. That flash of something makes me want to push back. Gage is usually so submissive. Now he wants to challenge me?
I raise an eyebrow. “It’s the truth.”
“You need to eat dinner.”
His tone brooks no argument, which surprises me further. What has gotten up his ass? “Need?” I ask, turning so I can look straight into Gage’s eyes. He doesn’t blink.
“Is there an echo in here?” Axel squeezes my thigh, and then his lips are at my ear. “I’d suggest you do as he says.”
“And I’d suggest you don’t tell me what to do.” I drop my hand over the one on my thigh and squeeze back hard. “I’m not hungry.”
There’s a moment of stillness that’s loaded with energy. It makes heat curl across my skin as I feel their undivided attention on me. Both of them feel like Axel right now, and with Axel, I usually lose control in a way that makes me feel like I’m in control, but I’m really not.
Then, Axel chuckles, and slowly, Gage stands up. His chair pushes back with a scrape, and adrenaline rushes through me. I poked the bear. The bear that’s normally a dog and rolls over on its belly for me.
I stand up, but as soon as I do, Axel wraps his arms around my torso and yanks me back down onto his lap.
“Hey!” A mixture of arousal and anger flushes under my skin, and I fight his hold. But Axel’s grip is firm, holding me tightly on his lap. He’s firm, but his grip doesn’t hurt.
“What the hell?” I sputter.
Gage sits on the table slightly in front of me, muscled thighs spread. He says nothing; he just grabs my plate and starts heaping food onto it.
“Axel,” I swing my head around to glare at him.
He just raises an eyebrow.
“Please, I–” I don’t know how to feel. Aroused, definitely. But there’s still a hum of frustration. Usually, I’m in control. They’re taking that from me.
Gage turns back to me, plate on his leg, the pieces of meat all chopped up. “Pizza or steak first?”
I let my gaze travel up his thigh to his torso, then meet his gaze. Slowly, I arch an eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing?”
If I expected him to roll over and show me his belly, he doesn’t. “Feeding my woman.” He motions at the plate. “Steak or pizza?”
“Is there an echo in here?” I ask. “It’s your birthday. I should be doing this for you.”
His gaze flashes briefly. “Right. It’s our birthday. So why don’t you be a good little present and give us what we want?”
I huff out a breath of air, trying to grasp any strand of control I can get. “Your ass is gonna pay for this later. You know that, right?”
Axel chuckles under me, and I feel the vibrations through my back.
Gage leans down, fixing his gaze on me. I meet it with a mixture of anger, confusion, and a bit of fear.
Slowly, Gage reaches his hand out to touch my face.
I lean my head back in silent defiance. He just follows the motion, gently cupping my jaw, then tracing his fingers down it. He then moves his fingers to my forehead, tracing them between my eyebrows, smoothing the wrinkle there.
“You haven’t been eating enough.”
His words settle over me. I haven’t been eating enough? That’s ridiculous. I’ve been eating. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gage. I eat.”
Gage just hums, then his hand grazes down the side of my face to my neck, then down to my arm. The touch is feather-light but somehow still burns as it goes. He moves across where his brother has my arms pinned, then finds my wrist.
Prickles of pleasure run up my skin.
“You haven’t been eating enough. Your skin gets dry, your hair is rougher than normal, and you’re less quick to laugh. You’re stressed, Raven.” His fingers stop dancing across my skin, and then he grabs my wrist and squeezes. “I won’t stand by while my woman doesn’t take care of herself.”
His attention is like a heavy weight. I feel it all over my body, and I shift under Axel’s muscled arms. He doesn’t ease up.
“I…”
“So Raven…” his voice softens. “Celeste.” Then it softens even further, so it’s just a whisper. “Princess. You’re gonna eat some steak for us. Then some pizza.” Gage picks up a piece of meat with his fingers and pushes it toward my face.
“Wait!” I swallow, pulling my head back, feeling heady and unbalanced. Like he just stripped me naked for both of them to see. And maybe he kind of did.
Gage pauses.
“Wait, I…” I try to come up with a suitable response.
Shame washes over me, along with anger. He’s right; I haven’t been taking care of myself.
I’ve been putting the business first. But it wasn’t like I was trying to neglect myself.
I don’t like that he not only saw it, but he called me out on it.
“I’ll eat when you let me go. Don’t tell me what to do. ”
There’s a pregnant silence in which Axel does not let me go.
Gage takes one breath in. I see his chest expanding, filling up his shirt.
For a brief second, I look for that old fear that’s followed me most of my life. Only, it’s just Gage in front of me. The familiar lines of his body soften as he lets the breath out.