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“You’re in more meetings than me.”

“Yeah, but do I pay attention? Sometimes. Do I want to be there? No.”

Phoenix kissed B, and when he leaned back, he cuddled his head against my shoulder. We soon fell asleep, and I dreamt about the certain future with Phoenix and Burton.

***

When I woke three hours later, I found Phoenix curled in my lap with his head nestled into B’s stomach. Both of them sound asleep.

For several minutes, I basked in the closeness we shared, until my stomach rumbled. It occurred to me we’d eaten nothing since dinner the night before and slept most of the morning. The idea of a full English breakfast with a few substitutions sounded good, and I knew Sunshine loved to try new foods.

As I stood with Phoenix in my arms, B blinked open his eyes and looked at the sweet bundle in my arms and laid out on the couch. I settled the younger man in front of him, who snuggled in close to B, before I covered them with the blanket.

Satisfied when their breathing deepened, I headed toward the kitchen after a quick detour and started the kettle boiling for the coffee before raiding the refrigerator.

A dozen eggs; B preferred sunny-side, while Phoenix liked a soft scramble. I then laid out smoked bacon, opened a can of baked beans, set out whole cherry tomatoes and mushrooms to roast, forming the breakfast sausage, and slicing the honey-oatmeal bread to round out the buffet. As the bacon and the vegetables roasted in the oven, I started cracking the eggs, leaving four behind for B, as I added heavy cream and whisked the remaining eight.

Other than the setback on New Year’s, I’d succeeded with putting weight on our younger lover, who, before we’d moved him in, had horrible eating habits.

Rather than make himself a proper meal, he ate sweets and often skipped lunch. After work, he napped before busying himself with his plants.

Which was why during the work week B and I would bring him lunch as we spent an hour together with Phoenix, making sure he ate his fill. On the weekends, I found the familiar desireto find new recipes for us to try while having plenty of food on hand to satisfy any cravings.

It wasn’t unknown for a visitor to drop by, especially to see Phoenix, and for the first time in his young life, affection wasn’t something he needed to earn.

Familiar skinny arms wrapped around my waist as he pressed his cheek to the middle of my back, and I inhaled. I loved him and his scent of cinnamon and sunshine.

A smile bloomed on my face, which I found familiar in the last several months. I wouldn’t have described myself as stoic as B had, but before the three of us made it official, there weren’t a lot of bright moments in my day where I’d experienced a surge of happiness knowing I was right where I needed to be. But with Phoenix in our lives, the glowing feeling never left.

“I’m sorry I woke you up so early,” the younger man whispered in deference to B, still sacked out on the couch. But I knew he wouldn’t last long asleep without Phoenix plastered against him.

I turned in his arms and cupped his face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and indulging in his taste. The soft sigh that washed over my lips when we broke off to catch our breaths brought contentment and desire rushing to the surface.

My voice was gruff when I spoke.

“You never have to be sorry. B and I, without fail, will worry about you and your mental health. And I know, although you’ve had Arthur in your life to fight for you when you needed it, B and I have your back, no matter what.”

There was a loud groan followed by a clipped curse and both of us laughed at the sound, signaling B was awake, but he wasn’t happy about it.

I slid my tongue over Phoenix’s bottom lip and swallowed his moan, loving the way his body became lax in my armsas he trusted me with his entire being. Soon both of us were breathless, and I was aching as the timer rang.

“Is the bacon burning?” B croaked.

“Shit!”

But I checked the oven to find perfectly cooked, crispy bacon. Ready to rebuke B’s claim, I turned and glared over my shoulder to see B picking Phoenix up and taking his mouth with a deep kiss.

I shook my head, but joy surged through me.

Although we should have stepped in and helped Phoenix with his plan against his father, I held back with my offer because it was something we knew he might want to handle on his own, forgetting we were together and a three-man team.

From this moment on, I vowed to open up to both of them and step in when either of my men had a problem.

CHAPTER 16

BURTON

The momentwe stepped into our bedroom, we shed our clothes and shut the outside world away.