Chapter 1
brOOKS
ONE YEAR LATER
“You know you don’t have to leave, right?” I asked Matty as he hustled to pack his overnight bag. He was spending the night at one of his friends’ houses from his hockey team, and I thought I was more nervous than everyone else.
I wanted him to finally get a chance at some normalcy, but I also wanted him where I could see him. My overprotective men were wearing off on me, I guessed.
I turned back to Matty, who rolled his eyes at me, but less like he was annoyed and more amused by me, throwing his duffle over his shoulder.
“Diego vetted my friend and everyone who lives in that house. Luca and Maverick freaking interviewed his parents, plus we all know Leo will have his ass parked outside the whole damn time. I promise I’ll be fine.
It’s the night before your birthday. You should be enjoying it with your guys and not worrying about me. ”
I flopped onto his bed dramatically, pouting like the brat I was, and nearly spilling my energy drink all over his bedding in the process.
I blatantly ignored his dirty look and placed the can on his nightstand before falling back again with a humph.
Matty and I had a unique dynamic since we were pretty close in age.
I didn’t fit that father-figure void in his mind the way the older guys did.
I liked to think of Skye and Diego as his meddling uncles.
They towed the line between cool confidants that he could share anything with and guardians that would rat on him to his real dads, aka mostly Mav and Wes.
Me? I guessed I was like an older brother. We hung out a lot. We talked about everything, both the shitty and the fun stuff, like video games, his crushes, and the latest manga. We also bickered, teased, and bantered with each other like most brothers did.
I still felt this intense need to protect Matty. I trusted the guys to keep him safe, of course, but I couldn’t escape the feeling that I also had to take care of him.
“Ugh, stop being reasonable.”
Matty stuck his tongue out at me and lightly kicked my shin.
“I’ll be fine. I have everyone’s numbers programmed in my phone, and I’ll keep it with me at all times.
Diego has a tracker in both that and my watch, which I also have on.
” He wiggled his wrist in my face. “I promise I’ll call or go outside to Leo and whatever other bodyguards he’s dragging along if there are any problems. Plus, Harley’s father is a marine.
I’m good, Brooks. I’ll be back tomorrow for the cookout. ”
Groaning, I pulled up to rest on my elbows and looked at the kid who had grown to mean so much to me.
I’d already had this conversation with Luca.
He’d reminded me that Matty was eighteen now and he needed to be able to live as much of a normal life as was possible for him.
And seriously, when Luca of all people was telling you to take it down a notch, you should probably listen.
I guessed I was more on edge because Luca and Wes would be leaving for a job overseas in just a few days and would be gone for three weeks.
It was a security gig, low risk, but we all seemed a little uneasy when any of us had to leave.
I couldn’t let my anxiety, however, keep Matty from having a life.
“Okay, fine. Go have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Matty rolled his eyes. “I think you should say don’t do anything I would do.”
Laughing, I threw one of the fidgets he had on his dresser at him. They were mine anyway; I could throw them if I wanted. “Whatever.”
Matty knocked into me again. “Seriously. Have fun. Do whatever weird, kinky shit y’all get up to, and I’ll try to act like I don’t know about it.”
“Yeah, can you not mention that part to Maverick?”
“Eww, definitely not. That’s so awkward.”
I climbed off the bed and held out my arms for a hug. Matty wasn’t touch averse like Diego, but he hadn’t grown up with a lot of casual affection and sometimes it was odd for him. So, I took the same approach with him that I did with D and let the kid dictate what he was okay with and when.
Now, he was okay with a hug. He shook his head like he was humoring me but still fell into my arms. “Happy birthday, B. I can’t wait till you see your gift.”
My eyebrows went up, my curiosity immediately getting the better of me. I held him at arm’s length so I could see those hazel eyes that screamed mischief.
“What gift? Yours to me?”
He grinned. “You’ll see.”
The little shit knew how much I hated not knowing things, made apparent when he slid out of my hold and ran out of his room.
Damn it! What did he know? Everyone had been super tight-lipped about any presents, and it was driving me wild.
I was used to that with Diego, but typically my mom slipped.
She was always the weak link during Christmas and birthdays.
This year, she either didn’t know what my guys had gotten me or she had suddenly gotten much better at keeping quiet. My guess was the former.
I followed Matty out but didn’t bother pushing for more information. I’d never get it. That kid could keep a secret. It was a little alarming how good he was at it.
I wandered down the halls, planning on bothering Diego in his office. I could stalk Matty there, at least until someone dragged me out.
“Where are you going?”
I turned to find Maverick leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He looked sexy as fuck in his black joggers that hugged his tree trunk thighs and the plain white T-shirt that barely fit over his chest. I often wondered if he purposely bought his clothes a size too small or if he was just so massive it was impossible to get the right one.
I never asked—I wasn’t that much of a pain slut.
There was something about Maverick’s tone and that glint in his eye that let me know he wanted to play. Immediately, I found myself straightening, my hands going behind my back like I was on autopilot.
“Um, I was going to bother Diego.”
Mav’s eyebrow rose toward his hairline. “You mean track Matty until he arrived at his friend’s house?”
I was not admitting that. “What? Of course not.”
Maverick smirked. “Mm-hmm. I think you have other plans, brat.”
That familiar feeling of nerves, excitement, and horniness began to settle in my gut. “I do?”
My mind raced as I wondered what my Sir had planned. It could be anything.
Maverick pushed off the wall, stalking toward me, making my toes curl.
The look in his eyes made me wonder if he planned on taking me right here in the hall.
I would not complain. I was a yes to free use and public sex, but with Matty living here, we had to be more cautious. But Matty wasn’t here now.
Mav’s fingers curled around my chin in a tight grip, tilting my head up so I was looking in his eyes. I wasn’t short at 5’10”, but Maverick was a giant, so I still had to tilt all the way up . . . and fuck he looked dangerous.
I swallowed. I wanted to bounce, my natural reaction in these kinds of situations, but Mav’s hold was too strong for me to move.
“You do. Go to the shower in the playroom. Skye’s waiting for you.”
Holy fuck. “Yes, Sir.”
Maverick still hadn’t let me go, though, so I waited. Those gray eyes seared into my damn soul, and I was beginning to wonder if he’d ever move before he finally bent down, capturing my lips in a hard kiss.
It ended way too soon. Maverick pulled back, causing me to pout. He tapped my cheek. “None of that, boy. That was just a taste to hold me over. Shower. Now.”
My tongue flicked over my lip ring once, twice, before I got with the program and realized I had an order.
“Yes, Sir,” I repeated before turning and sprinting back down the hallway in the direction of the playroom.
A little shiver of anticipation ran through me as I remembered the last time we’d used that space.
We all had our own rooms; well, Diego and I still shared when he wasn’t with Wes.
But what used to be Luca’s suite had been converted, a custom-sized bed that could easily fit all six of us added.
We didn’t all sleep there continuously, but you could find two or three of us there on any given night, and that was where the majority of our play had been lately, especially with Matty here.
We used the bath occasionally, especially for aftercare, but the shower in the playroom had sat unused even more than the room itself, since the one in the suite was great.
It was a walk-in big enough to fit all of us with a removable showerhead and enough attachments to have the kinkiest motherfuckers raising their eyebrows in shock.
The fact that Maverick was sending me specifically to the playroom shower meant something.
And that Skye was waiting for me? Yeah, I couldn’t wait to see what he had in store.
Skye was putting waterproof sheets onto the massive bed in the middle of the room when I walked in. Yup, nothing to see here.
“Um, hi?”
He looked up from what he was doing, a mischievous smile on his face. He had obviously seen me walk in. Skye wasn’t surprised by anyone, which meant one thing: I was supposed to see what he was doing. Which would be exactly the kind of thing Mav would set up. Fucking sadist.
“Hi, sunshine. Don’t mind me, just preparing.”
“Preparing what?”
Skye waved his finger at me. “You’ll see.”
Shiiiit. I fiddled with my bracelets while I waited.
I was trying to be patient and still my mind, but it was impossible.
Was this part of the birthday present Matty had been talking about?
But no, they’d never have told him this.
He was like our kid. So that was something different.
I preferred it when they just started to chase me, then I didn’t have to think so much.
Skye finished his task and met me where I was still standing frozen by the door. He cupped both my cheeks and kissed me, as hard and needy as Maverick.
I never knew what Skye I’d get when we did anything alone, even something as simple as kissing.
Sometimes it felt like we were vanilla partners together, just enjoying each other’s bodies without the kink aspect.
And other times he was as dominant as Mav or Luca.
I loved being kept on my toes, wondering what Skye would be coming to play.
Today, he was clearly more dominant, though I had a feeling he was still following orders from the permanently Dommy types.
Still, I gladly melted into the kiss and opened up for my kink brother, allowing him to take what he wanted.
I was thankful for my cock cage, otherwise I’d be hard as hell by now.
Luca and I had been experimenting with orgasm control, and I was currently on day three without one, so even the lightest kiss from my men would probably have me shooting.
Skye pulled back but didn’t let go of my face. “So fucking hot.” His thumb traced over my bottom lip.
My tongue shot out, licking across the digit. He pushed in farther, and I gladly trapped it in my lips, sucking it like it was his dick. “Fuuuck. If I thought we could get away with it, I’d fill that pretty mouth with something a lot more exciting than my thumb.”
“How much time do we have? I could be quick.”
Skye laughed. “You’re cute if you think we’re not being watched right now.
And someone had very explicit instructions on what we can and can’t do.
” That would be Luca. Skye didn’t have to say that for me to know.
While Maverick was a sadist through and through, Luca’s core kink was control.
He got off on knowing that I needed his permission to do certain things.
And since I got off on needing that permission, it was a win-win.
I nipped at Skye’s thumb before sighing dramatically. “Ugh, fiiiiine. Then, what are we supposed to be doing? I’m a little in the dark here.”
Skye booped my nose. “That’s kind of the point. C’mon, I have to get you clean. You have a big night ahead of you.”
Yay? Skye dragged me into the bathroom, and I could only follow, wondering what my men had planned.