Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ROYCE
Six months later
“I need to tell you something before we go to dinner. It’s heavy and will probably kill your good mood. I just don’t want the guys we’re meeting with to say anything without me having spoken to you.”
At my rushed-out words, Kenny turns away from the mirror where he was fixing his hair. “Your Majesty, this sounds scary.”
“So long as you remember this is all in the past, it won’t be.”
I move closer to him, my eyes locked with his. When I’m close enough to touch, I take his hand in mine, then run it over my wrist.
It takes him a minute to understand what he’s touching. But I see the second he gets it.
He yanks my arm up to inspect my skin. “Royce,” they choke out.
“Shhhh, Kenny baby. I told you it was in the past. I’m fine now. I survived. Mama got me into therapy and the people at Bellport General saved my life.”
“The gala!” He cries. “You hinted at this back then. Your family did too. Do they all know?”
I nod. “They do now. Not everyone knew when it happened. I was ashamed of being weak. Or at least, what I perceived as weak at the time.”
His throat moves as he swallows. It’s more a gulp, really.
Then his lips press against the scars marring my skin. It’s the most intimate thing we’ve ever shared, which is honestly saying a lot given how open we are sexually.
But this… this is more.
“Tell me what happened. Why did it happen? Can you share that with me?”
I sigh, dreading telling the story. Not because I feel like it'll take me back to that time. It’s more because I know he’s going to feel some sort of guilt, when it doesn’t have anything to do with him. Not really.
“Things with Clark were rougher than I let others see. When you weren’t around, his taunts were often accompanied by physical violence.
Senior year, he somehow managed to find out my locker combinations, and he memorized the path I took to my classes.
He went after me almost nonstop. I reached a point where I simply didn’t want to deal with him anymore. ”
Kenny drops my hand and steps back. His wide eyes roam over my body with a pained expression.
“How can you even be near me right now? If the person I was around, the one I didn’t stick up to, led you to almost—“
“Hey, hey!” I shout, pulling his attention back to me. “I’m here. I’m alive. Clark is a bad memory, yes, but you’re not him. And you’ve proven you’ve more than changed from that time. I wouldn’t be living with you, fucking you, or building a life with you if you weren’t. Understand?”
“No, I really fucking don’t. I want to rage and scream. Break down every fucking wall in this place until this panic and fear and rage leaves me. I almost lost you before I ever had you.”
I’m moving before I truly think it through. Wrapping my arms around him, I latch on with a fierce grip.
“Listen here, Little Menace. I’m not going to repeat myself.
You listening?” He nods. “Good! Now then, here are the facts: I had a rough go of it in my youth. Being different in a town like Bellport left me open to bad things, but I wouldn’t change a minute of it.
My experiences helped me grow. They showed me a new side to life.
Now I help hundreds of people escape bad situations all over the country.
And none of that would have happened had I not wound up in Bellport General, undergone intensive therapy, and decided to become a fucking vigilante of sorts to help those in need. ”
He sniffs as he buries his face in my shoulder. His voice comes out mumbled when he finally speaks.
“Can we at least hunt down Clark and make his life hell?”
“Oh, Kenny baby. My family already ensured he’d never know a moment of peace once they got the truth out of me. I haven’t checked on him lately, but I have no doubt Clark Greer is having the day he deserves.”
I won’t dare go into detail, though I know the truth.
Clark works at a service station down a long strip of highway in the desert.
He lives alone in an RV and doesn’t even so much as have a pet.
Anytime he’s tried to improve his life, my family has interfered.
Eventually, he gave up trying. It’s petty and mean, but the Bellports always stick up for their own.
My little menace chuckles, pulling me back to the present. “Not that I’m not happy you’ve shared this with me, but can I ask why now? Who are these people that are coming?”
“Carver, who you might remember from the call that shifted things for us. His boy is Gideon. When the pair met, it was because Gideon had been held captive by a heinous woman who ran a skin trade. Carver helped take her down, then he took Gideon in. Normally the boy would have come to me, but Carver knew there was more to his story. After things settled, I went to meet Gideon to show him gender wasn’t a one size fits all.
We’ve kept in touch ever since. They’ve always been welcome to visit, though this is the first time. ”
Kenny turns his face, pressing a kiss to my neck. My cock hardens so fast I worry I’ll faint from the shift.
“Does that mean you’re some kind of cupid? Helping people fall in love and stuff.”
“Not cupid,” I argue. “I believe these two would have found each other no matter what.”
“Like how we did.”
“Yeah, Little Menace. Exactly like us.”
The sound of Carver’s motorcycle announces their arrival. I throw the door to our home—the one we moved into last month—open to greet him. Gideon is already off the bike, and the second he sees me, he comes running.
I’m hit with a hundred-some-odd pounds of eager young man before I manage to speak. Laughing, I swing him around in a circle like I used to do Jake when he was little. Gideon giggles, just as I hoped he would.
“Your Majesty?” Kenny calls from behind me.
Gideon yanks free at the sound. He leans around me, eyes wide as he takes in my partner. “Is this them?”
I nod. “Gideon, this is Kenny. Little Menace, this is Gideon. The big hulking giant approaching is Carver.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he tells them, though the stiffness in his shoulders tells me he’s not happy about it. My man is clearly jealous.
Rolling my eyes, I climb the steps to get to him. He opens his mouth as if to ask what I’m doing, but I cut him off by yanking him into a deep kiss. I’m talking it’s the kind where hands wander and clothes typically come off.
Carver whistles after a few seconds. “Ease up on the porn. My boy doesn’t need to see you two get freaky. We came to visit, not be voyeurs.”
I pull away laughing. “Better now, Kenny baby? There’s nothing between me and Gideon other than friendship. I’m like a big sibling or a mentor. He’s only got eyes for Carver.”
Tipping my head at the couple has Kenny’s gaze moving to them. It’s then he sees the super obvious heart eyes Gideon is giving to his man. It’s equal parts adorable and nauseating.
“Let’s all get inside. There are too many softie emotions happening out here. What will the neighbors think?” I tease.
The three of them laugh as they follow me inside. Our space is a warm, inviting space for guests. I try to take it in as if I’m a first-time guest, since that’s exactly how Gideon and Carver will see it.
The first thing you notice when you step inside is the atmosphere of the home itself. The house smells faintly of cedar, vanilla, and buttery goodness that is definitely coming from the kitchen. I baked earlier, and there’s no denying the scent has lingered.
Light spills softly through wide windows, filtered by linen curtains that move just slightly with each breath of air. They’re a soft touch I felt necessary in a home with this much testosterone.
The living room is wide and welcoming, with deep armchairs arranged around a stone fireplace that will be heavily used in the winter months despite it never getting too cold here. I just can’t resist a good fire.
Shelves line one wall, filled with books that look read, not staged, and family photos tucked between small pieces of art.
It’s nothing loud or showy, just a quiet sense of taste.
Every surface feels intentional without being perfect: a mug left half-finished on the coffee table, a soft throw blanket slung over the arm of the couch.
Wood floors gleam underfoot, their shine softened by thick woven rugs.
“Take your shoes off and stick around for a while. I made some fresh pastries earlier in the day. Would you like some? And maybe a drink?” I ask our guests.
Gideon looks to Carver for the answer. His face is pleading, a fact that will most assuredly get him what he’s wanting.
“We’ll take what you’re offering,” Carver tells me as he wraps a hand around the side of Gideon’s throat. “My boy deserves a treat for making the ride all the way here on the bike.”
“That’s the farthest you’ve gone so far, right?”
“Yep. And very much worth it. Lots of scenic views.”
I move to leave the room but stop when I hear Gideon call out for me. “Yes?”
“Can we come with you? I want to see your kitchen.”
Smiling, I wave a hand for him to follow. I always forget he enjoys watching others cook and prepare his food. It’s a leftover trait from his time of being locked away. He doesn’t talk about it much. I have no doubt his food was likely tampered with though. It’s a common trait amongst those taken.
In the kitchen, they all settle on the oversized stools across the island from me. We make small talk as I gather the food and pour drinks. It’s domestic. It’s simple. And it feels so much like home I can’t contain my smile.
When Kenny looks my way, I mouth the words, “I love you” to him. He grins, then says it back. Our guests don’t call us out for the moment. If anything, our shared vows have them relaxing even further.
The day becomes one for the memory books.
We swap stories, recipes, and wind up watching a movie before the night ends.
Carver and Gideon head off for the guest room we set up while Kenny and I clean up the kitchen.
My little menace knows I hate going to bed with a mess left behind.
He’s more than willing to help if we can wind up together quicker.
“They were nice,” he tells me as he dries a pan.
“I told you there was nothing to worry about. I would never bring anyone here who I thought wouldn’t get along with you. You’re my priority, Kenny baby.”
“Because you love me?”
I grin, stepping into his space and pinning him to the counter. “Yes, Little Menace. I love you. Of course I do. You slid your way into my heart on a home run and wouldn’t leave.”
“A baseball love pun?! Holy shit, Your Majesty. That’s amazing.”
We laugh together in the silence of our home. It’s a moment I could have never predicted. A time I didn’t see coming.
Because there was a time I didn’t know who I was. A time when I didn’t think the world would accept me, so I tried to leave rather than make a splash. A time when I avoided Kenneth Meyer for fear he’d lead me down a dark path again.
For all the bad in our past, the future is looking pretty damn bright.