Page 33 of Roll With The Punches

Chapter Nine

With his back turned to the table, and standing far enough away Jeff and Stuart couldn’t hear, Brandon passed Loren the two small velvet pouches, one red and one blue, holding the men’s necklaces so she could slip them in her purse.

“You okay?” she asked.

He laughed. “Nervous as hell.”

“That’s normal. This is a big step for you guys.”

“Wish I could legally marry both of them.”

“Well, Ed’s really good. He learned from the best, after all.”

“Huh?”

“Kaden, his partner. It was Kaden who originally came up with all the legal gymnastics they use now for poly groups. He did a lot of research into it when a triad came to him looking for protection for them for their baby. He spent hundreds of his own hours working on the research pro bono. Kind of set the gold standard.”

Melancholy clouded her features. “Too bad he didn’t get to use it very long himself with Leah, and Seth. That was another reason he was so interested in it, because he’d planned to use it himself one day. Unfortunately, time ran out for him.”

She forced a smile. “Sorry. I always get a little extra verklempt at a collaring for a poly group. And I have that printed copy of the e-mail you sent me about what you wanted to say, in case you need it.”

“Thanks again for doing this for us.”

“I’m happy to do it. It brings me joy.” Now her smile looked genuine. “Sort ofmykink.”

Brandon was actually glad Jeff was driving tonight. Nervous didn’t begin to describe how he felt right now.

He was pledging to these two guys to love them forever, to take care of them—to not fuck up their lives.

Both of them.

This was a big.

Fucking.

Deal.

Maybe vanilla people who didn’t understand the level of commitment this took would discount it as meaningless. Not like they were married, right?

To Brandon, this was every bit as serious—and more—as marriage.

It blew him away that Jeff and Stuart loved and trusted him enough to do this with him.

He desperately didn’t want to let them down.

At the club, once Stuart retrieved the implement bag from the trunk, Brandon took it from him and led the way inside, where he paid for their entry fees tonight, not giving them a chance to argue about it. Usually they paid for their own entry, and they took turns paying when they went out to eat together.

Tonight, he would take care ofhisboys in the only ways he could.

They weren’t going to waste any time with this. Immediately inside the dungeon, he stopped his boys and personally buckled their leather collars around their necks. After dropping his bag next to the bench he wanted to use following the ceremony and getting set up, he led Stuart and Jeff over to the corner near the social area where they’d hold the ceremony.

Tonight, Cali was manning a camera, taking pics for them without getting anyone else in the shots except Loren, who didn’t care.

Once it was time to get started, and they had a good crowd gathered to watch, Brandon shook his hands to try to ease his nerves before snapping his fingers and pointing at the floor next to him.

As one, Jeff and Stuart knelt.

Hisboys.