Chapter 9
9
T anner pressed another kiss to the soft skin under Bracken’s pointed ear.
He was rewarded with a lethargic swat to his side.
“I’m busy,” Bracken chastised.
“I know. I’m helping.”
“You are decidedly not.” But Bracken tilted his head to the side all the same, making room for Tanner’s searching mouth.
They were finally putting the nursery together in the spare bedroom Tanner was no longer using.
Bracken had been acting cagey about it for the last month, and the fact that he’d finally given in seemed like a good sign.
A reflection of the way they’d grown closer since the night they’d finally broken down the barriers between them.
Bracken was still prickly and demanding.
Although instead of demanding furniture be moved, he demanded Tanner fuck him every which way, which was admittedly a pleasant change.
But he was also softer.
Less defensive.
Sweeter, even, if Tanner caught him in the right moment.
His pheromones had softened too.
Tanner hadn’t realized how unsettled they’d been until now, when he could scent the difference.
And in addition to the copious amounts of sex, Tanner now slept in Bracken’s bed every night, holding him close.
He’d never been happier.
But there were some things left unsettled.
“Bracken.”
“Mm?” Bracken punched at the cushion he was holding, testing it for some unknowable criterium.
“Sweetheart, put the pillow down,” Tanner coaxed, running his hand down Bracken’s forearm and unclenching his fist from the fabric.
“Turn around for me.”
Bracken turned with a loud huff.
“I don’t have time for a tussle right now, you oaf.” He cocked his head, his gaze running down Tanner’s bare chest.
“Or…” He licked at his lips.
“It would have to be a very quick one.”
“Bracken.” Tanner tilted Bracken’s chin up until their eyes met.
Bracken sighed, apparently realizing a quick tussle wasn’t in the cards.
“Yes? What is it, then?”
“You know how I feel about you.”
“That I have your whole heart?” Bracken asked smugly.
He did so love to repeat that line as many times as he could.
“Exactly. And I think that maybe you’re?—”
“Tolerably fond of you?” Bracken wrinkled his nose.
“Yes, I suppose.”
That was, of course, the closest Tanner had gotten to any sort of real declaration.
It was further than he’d hoped to get, so he was cherishing it with determined pleasure.
Tanner knew his prickly fae would come around one day, and in the meantime, he was enjoying the dance between them.
But there was one thing he needed to know.
“You’re staying, aren’t you?” he asked, searching that jewel-green gaze for any sign otherwise.
“After the baby comes. Long after the baby comes. Forever.”
Bracken narrowed his eyes.
“Is that some sort of proposal?”
“It could be.”
It was less eloquent than Tanner had hoped for such an occasion, but he supposed it did the trick.
Bracken stepped back, placing this hands on his hips, his belly now a sizable swell in front of him.
He looked Tanner over quite deliberately.
Tanner barely dared breathe under the scrutiny.
Eventually Bracken gave a decisive nod.
“We’ll undergo a fae bonding ceremony. You’ll be linked to my lifespan, so your aging will slow.” He cocked his head, studying Tanner’s hair and beard.
“Though I don’t mind the bits of gray. It’s a rarity among fae. Very…distinguished.”
Tanner’s slow grin grew so wide it hurt his cheeks.
Bracken made a face.
“What’s your surname, anyway? I should know.”
“Tanner is my surname,” Tanner told him, rubbing at the back of his neck.
“My first name is Bradley.”
He’d never seen Bracken look so stricken.
Devastated, really.
Like Tanner had just broken his heart into two.
“Bradley and Bracken?” Bracken asked, his eyes shiny with unshed tears.
“ Bradley and Bracken ?”
“You can stick with Tanner,” Tanner soothed.
“Everyone else does.”
Bracken took a moment to come to terms with it.
A very long, drawn-out moment.
Tanner thought that maybe the fae had never been closer to leaving him behind.
“The baby will have my last name,” Bracken eventually said, although he was still eyeing Tanner like he was on thin ice.
“Riverstone.”
“Of course. It’s a beautiful name.”
The baby could have whatever the fuck name Bracken wanted, because Bracken was staying.
With Tanner.
Forever.
Tanner cleared his throat.
“Listen, I know this is all modest compared to what you’re used to. I’m sorry I don’t have riches to shower you with. But I’ll do my best?—”
“Oh, I have my riches,” Bracken interrupted, turning back to his pillow and giving it three swift punches.
“Um…what?”
“I was kicked out of the realm, not stripped of my inheritance.” Bracken sniffed at the pillow’s fabric, then tugged at its tassels.
“And a good thing too. We’ll need a larger place eventually. If we choose to have more.”
Children.
Bracken was talking about having more children.
With Tanner.
“You didn’t… Why didn’t you say?”
“I didn’t ask for your money, if you recall,” Bracken told him, a touch of acid on his tongue.
“I asked you to take responsibility.” He whirled, brandishing the pillow.
“Does this child not deserve a father? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“No, of course not.”
So Bracken hadn’t come to find Tanner because he had nothing to his name.
He’d come because…
He’d come because he’d wanted Tanner at his side.
He’d come because he wanted Tanner.
Bracken pointed an accusing finger at Tanner’s face.
“Don’t. Look. Smug.”
Tanner grabbed the pillow, tossing it to the side.
He tugged his fae into his arms and kissed him soundly.
“You’re going to have to put up with it this time, sweetheart. I don’t think I can look any other way.”