Page 89 of Love By Design

He shook his head and tugged at the knot of his tie. “I want you to finish what you’re doing and meet me in the bedroom.”

“Yes…yeah.” I cleared my throat and set a bowl of pasta in front of Smith.

Marshall cast a quick look down at the contents of my half-eaten bowl, then inclined his head toward the hallway. Lincoln waggled his eyebrows at me, and I gave him the finger.

“We’re good,” Lincoln said, seemingly to both of us, because Marshall didn’t move until the words had left Lincoln’s mouth.

I followed him into the bedroom and walked right into his waiting arms, burying my face against the front of his chest with a happy sigh.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m good. Honestly. Better now.”

“Did you talk to Cory?”

“All set for Monday,” I said.

Marshall hummed and slid his hands down my sides until they were bracketed around my waist and our bodies were notched together in the way that already felt so right.

“What happened tonight?” I asked, flattening my palms against the center of his chest. I dragged them up until I reached his tie, then fussed with the knot until it came loose. He answered me with an approving noise, so I pulled the tie off and set to work with his buttons.

“You know I have three brothers,” he said.

I tugged the tails of his shirt free from his pants, then slid the sleeves down until he was only in slacks.

“Yes.”

“Half-brothers,” he said. “Different mothers who all sold us out in the name of a payoff.”

“What now?”

“We all came to live with my father because after he found out about us, he bought us.”

Marshall explained it like he was reading something as commonplace as a recipe, which seemed impossible. I undid his belt and pulled down his fly.

“I was the first, then Finn and Hunter. They were young. Smith…he came later.”

“How much later?”

I helped Marshall out of his pants, then toyed with the waistband of his black boxer briefs.

“He was almost a teenager. He’s always been the baby, but for years now it’s just been the four of us.”

“They’re lucky to have you.”

“We’re lucky to have each other.”

He still had my hands, so I left his briefs alone.

“Hunter was recently made aware we have another half-brother. He’s down in San Diego, named Andrew. We just told Smith and Finn about him tonight.”

The breath left my lungs like air leaving a sail. “Oh, shit.”

He huffed out what might have passed for a laugh on a better day. “Smith is not taking the news well.”

“How areyoutaking it?” I pulled Marshall toward the dresser so I wouldn’t have to take my hands off of him, and he smirked at me but went along with it.

“It’s old hat to me at this point.”