Page 25

That following March

Colt Carter

“…a nd in the end, we couldn’t say no,” Luke said, turning onto the dirt road.

“Macklin was in, Lucian was in, and then Penelope followed after Reese flew into a fit of rage about paperwork. He literally came out of the house and kicked a stack of documents—like a football—and papers flew everywhere while he cursed about rezoning and liquor permits.”

That sounded like something I could do too. Fucking red tape.

“But this Penelope chick—she knows all about that?” I guessed.

“Pretty much. She works in city planning,” he said. “She’s very funny. The dynamic between her and Lucian will crack you up. He can be somewhat reserved—but always nice,” he added. “And then she came along as his ball-busting sister.”

I knew a thing or two about the annoying effects of baby sisters.

All right, then. I was up to speed, I was fairly sure.

Maybe I was a teensy bit nervous to meet his friends, but I couldn’t say I was worried . I just wanted to make a good impression and fit in. I mean, the idea was fantastic. To run a community from an actual physical location—what a luxury.

The house came into view soon enough, and I leaned forward in my seat.

Fucking hell, this was gonna be good. The place was bigger than I’d anticipated.

“I thought you said it had peelin’ off yellow and green paint,” I said.

“It used to. When Reese and River first got the keys, every previous shade was seemingly peeling off the walls. It’s been yellow, pastel green, and light blue, as far as we know. But now…” He smiled to himself and pulled in next to a truck.

Now the house was black, and the outside appeared to be finished.

I remembered Luke had told me they’d started replacing rotten boards earlier this year, but I didn’t know they were done.

Made sense, though. Finish the exterior so the inside was protected from leaks and weather damage.

I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the car, and I took a deep breath.

Yeah, I could see this in my future. We hadn’t worked out the logistics yet, and I wanted to be closer to Luke than Langley, but…we’d make it work. I did get time off, and I could picture us spending a lot of time working on this place together.

“We haven’t painted the shutters yet—or that, uh…the…the panels that go around,” Luke pointed out. “We’re gonna replace all the windows first, and that’s evidently not cheap.”

I smirked at my dork. “Do you mean the framing and the casing?”

He shot me a look. “I’m sorry I’m not fluent in carpenter.”

I laughed and pulled him to me, and I smooched his temple. “Don’t worry, darlin’. You have me now, and I clearly know everythin’.”

He smacked my chest and failed to hide his amusement. “Arrogant bastard.”

Goddamn, he was gorgeous. I was still riding a wave of relief and euphoria at being home again, and now I had him. He was mine. All fucking mine.

“An arrogant bastard you professed your love for.” I kissed his nose.

He hummed and kissed me. “Don’t make me regret it, Captain. I’ll call your mother.”

Our sugary-sweet moment ended abruptly—not because he threatened me, but because someone came running out of the house, screaming. And that had to be the young kid. Macklin. I’d put faces to most names, thanks to Facebook. By most, I meant everyone except the Tenleys and Greer Finlay.

“What on earth?” Luke straightened.

“Don’t fucking follow me, you sadistic prick!” Macklin yelled. It was as if he didn’t see us; he just ran past all the cars. He was sweaty, too, and covered in sawdust.

Another guy came out of the front door, and Luke told me it was Greer.

He was holding something.

“Don’t be such a baby, Mack!” Greer hollered. “This is a good snake! You want it in your garden!”

“I don’t have a garden!” Macklin shouted back. “Just get that thing away from me!”

I grinned.

“Oh, come on,” Greer laughed, trailing down the porch steps. “It’s our official mascot now. He needs a name.”

Macklin stomped his foot and snarled. “ Or , both you and that nope rope can go to hell!”

This was gonna be fun.

Greer was still sufficiently amused as he lowered the snake among the rosebushes, and Luke grabbed my hand and nudged me toward the house. Time for introductions, I reckoned.

“ God .” Macklin blew out a harsh breath and shuddered. “I can’t believe there are freaks who actually collect those monsters.”

I threw him a smirk over my shoulder, and he seemed ready to acknowledge my presence now.

“I see you there, Lucas’s man. I swear I’m polite—when I’m not freaking out.”

I chuckled. “I didn’t mind this show one bit.”

“I get it, you’re a Sadist,” he huffed. “Lucas already told us.”

Aw, my man was talking me up to his buddies.

Greer was next. He brushed his hands off his utility pants and flashed a hot grin.

“At long last, we meet the only man who’s made Lucas beg,” he said.

I coughed around a laugh and side-eyed Luke. Only man, huh?

“For chrissakes, Greer,” he chastised. “His ego is already the size of this house.”

“It can always grow bigger.” I smiled and shook Greer’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Marine. If you want an apology in writing for me bein’ an airman, just lemme know your favorite color crayon.”

“Oh-ho! Right in the heart!” Greer laughed and threw Luke a look. “I see you’ve been talking about us.”

“Well, I’ve been told my pillow talk is excellent,” he responded smoothly. “I had to give him a proper briefing.”

He hadn’t skimped on the details either. Except for when I’d curiously asked how many of his friends he’d slept with. He’d turned red and thrown the aforementioned pillow in my face.

It’d required some orgasm denial to get him to admit to having been with River, Reese, and Lucian.

The front door opened again, and there was no question about who they were. One twin was quick to grin, and the other grew more pensive. So, Reese and River Tenley, wearing sawdusted jeans and ratty tees.

“Just what we need, another Sadist.” Reese jogged down the steps and stuck out his hand. “Good to meet you, Colt. I’m Reese.”

“Good to meet you too, man.” I shook his hand firmly. “I have ten days before I gotta get back to Langley, so put me to work.”

I shook hands with River too.

“Music to my ears,” Reese replied. “But we’re thinkin’…throw some burgers on the grill first? We have a shit-ton of stories about Lucas to share with you.”

“I swear to Christ!” Luke exclaimed.

Greer cracked up. “Let’s start with the time he whined in his Chinese food about how he’d be the last of us to meet someone.”

Oh, this was gold already. Pure fucking gold.

I threw an arm around Luke’s shoulders and kissed the side of his head. “I wanna hear every story.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered.

“Can I first get the story about how there are absolutely no more snakes inside the house?” Macklin hollered.

Reese was already back inside, but he had no problem raising his voice. “We don’t give spoilers in this house, subbie!”

“I’m a switch!” was Macklin’s argument.