Page 163 of Incisive

“I’m so sorry you had to see that. I should have asked Leo to take you out of the room before we watched the video.” One of the biggest regrets of my life will be not protecting him from the sight of the man being decapitated by his captors.

“Hey, I need to put on my big-boy panties and deal.” I snort. “You know what I mean.” He sits up and reaches for a tissue to blow his nose.

“How about you get naked and let’s snuggle?”

I help him strip and then shut off the lamp. In the swaddling darkness he gets comfortable in my arms and I pull the sheet over us. We might both have nightmares tonight but at least we can weather them together.

* * *

I don’t knowwhat time it is when I hear a beep and start to sit up just to see a dark shape looming over the bed.

I guess I take a swing at the person before I even realize it because a hand catches my arm and twists, easily deflecting the blow. “At ease, pet,” Leo whispers. “Don’t wake the boy.”

Jordan stirs in my arms and as my pulse starts to slow I kiss his forehead. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

Jordan murmurs something and then relaxes, asleep again, while Leo quietly strips and slides in on Jordan’s other side, kissing me before snuggling in.

“What time is it?” I whisper, trying not to wake Jordan.

“Almost two.”

The way Jordan’s cradled between us, Leo and I can lie there with our foreheads touching, so that’s exactly what I do. “Thank you.”

His nose nuzzles mine. “No way I’m leaving you two alone tonight.”

It would be so easy to say the words.

Sooo damned easy.

It’d be easy to sit up, retrieve the box from the nightstand, and slip the ring onto his finger.

Except I can’t do it.

I lie there trying to talk myself into it when I realize I’ve fallen asleep at some point. Because I find Jordan leaning over me, kissing me, and I smell coffee.

Leo groans from the other side of the bed. “What time is it?”

“Almost eight, Daddy. Breakfast casserole will be ready in about thirty minutes.”

Holy. Shit.I never sleep this late.

“Excellent. Thank you, baby.” Leo kisses both of us and rolls out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Jordan follows him, leaving the mugs of coffee on the nightstand.

That’s when a flare of panic hits. If Leo reaches into that drawer to get, oh, condoms or lube or a collar for us, he’ll see it.

I roll over and yank open the nightstand drawer—

The ring box is gone.

Jordan appears in the doorway and drops me a wink before disappearing again and I realize the sneaky boy managed to fly under Sir Stalksalot’s radar and covered my tracks. I can only guess that means Jordan’s also rearranged the fridge so the special dinner fixings aren’t obvious.

I flop back onto the bed, my emotions a jumbled, swirling mess.

Adulting shouldn’t be this hard, right? Why the hell am I making life so hard on myself?

And how’d I get so lucky that I found not one but two men willing to stick by my side through it all?

How much longer can that fragile luck hold, though?