Page 15 of Single Greatest Threat (Atlantic City’s Most Wanted #6)

It had been years since Kace set eyes on Joesph.

At one time, he had thought he would ask Joesph to marry him.

Of course, life had taken a different turn when he had been offered a high-paying job at a hospital in Nashville.

Kace had been forced to choose. He had chosen his career.

Joesph never seemed to begrudge him that.

In fact, they had tried to do the long-distance thing.

That had failed miserably once those night shifts hit.

Fuck. He was still sexy as hell. Kace had lain awake all night for two nights, thinking about him.

Then a messenger had shown up with an invitation to Joesph’s wedding.

Reality truly dropped the hammer. When he had moved home from Nashville three years ago, he had thought several times about Joesph.

At one point in his life, Joesph had been the greatest love of his life.

Too many times to count, he almost looked him up.

Several thoughts had always stopped him.

What if he hated Kace for choosing a job over him?

Maybe he was married. No doubt someone treated him the way he deserved.

Now he headed to the man’s wedding. It was surreal.

He was so fucking pissed at himself. Kace had looked this Shaw guy up online.

It seemed he was money come from money on top of money.

Joesph deserved that life. More than that, he deserved to have a man treat him the way Kace had watched Shaw treat him.

The guy had been way more worried about Joesph’s health than his and he was the one in the hospital discussing his heart.

Kace pulled into the parking lot of the tiny chapel where the wedding was being held.

He wanted to beat his head against the wall.

This should’ve been his life. It should be his wedding, although Kace would like to think they’d have a nicer venue.

The vineyard was pretty, but it was odd to see such a powerful and wealthy man choose this place.

With a sigh, he climbed from the car. He headed for the door with his head held high.

The moment he stepped inside, his curiosity flew through the roof.

Prince Noir was there with a full royal guard.

Everyone knew him. He was constantly on TV, fascinating the world with the wild notion of a prince living in America.

It looked like he sat on Joesph’s side of the chapel, since Haven sat in the front row.

She turned her head and caught sight of him.

A huge smile exploded across her face. Kace felt the same smile on his. She stood and met him halfway.

When they hugged, Kace fought the urge to close his eyes. She always gave the best hugs. Mom hugs. No one knew how amazing those were until they were gone.

She pulled away but held on to his hands. “It’s been so long. You’re even more handsome.”

“And you’re twice as beautiful.”

She swatted his chest. “I’m so glad you came. Joesph worried you wouldn’t.”

“Of course. Joesph has been my friend for a long time.”

“Well, more than a friend,” Haven tacked on to his claim. “But I knew you’d be here.”

“So.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I met Shaw briefly.”

“Yeah. Joesph told me you treated Shaw at the hospital.”

Kace nodded. “Are we happy about this wedding?”

Haven laughed. Her bright smile never dimmed.

“I won’t lie and say they haven’t had hard times.

Shaw’s family is…well, Shaw’s family. They’re rich and pretentious.

It’s always been more important for Shaw to be successful than loved.

But he desperately loves my son. He treats him like a king and puts him first. Shaw would give up everything before he let go of Joesph. ”

Kace didn’t miss the dig. He glanced around. “I guess I should find a seat.”

Haven took his arm. “Nonsense. You’ll sit with me. I want you to meet my nephew.”

Kace suppressed a groan but let himself get dragged along.

Damn. He hoped this wedding wasn’t about to go from a bad day to a total nightmare.

There was nothing he hated worse than someone playing matchmaker.

It happened way more than he liked since he was a doctor.

It seemed everyone suddenly had a nephew.

He already felt like this was hell just because of the occasion.

The idea that things couldn’t get worse flew straight out the window at the sight of Jamison waiting for Haven.

Time stopped. Jamison’s closed expression gave away nothing.

After all, it wasn’t every day a man ran into the professional he hired about once a month to snuggle with him.

Holy shit. This day was even worse than he could have dreamed.

Not only was he humiliated, but he also had the horrible realization the guy was Joesph’s cousin. He wanted to die.

There was so much happiness bubbling inside Shaw. He had been married exactly one day, and he was still riding the high. He hit his blinker.

“This isn’t the way to the airport.”

Shaw’s permanent smile grew. “I know. We have four hours until our flight leaves. I have to make a stop.” He stopped at the gate of a prestigious neighborhood a few blocks over from his house. The gate swung wide as Shaw approached, proving his new sensor worked.

“Where are we going?” Joesph looked adorably confused.

Shaw kissed his hand. “You’ll see.” He turned into a driveway and parked outside the three-car garage. Shaw motioned for Joesph to stay in the car. “Wait just a second.”

Joesph eyed the house. “Okay.”

Shaw quickly moved to the trunk and pulled out Joesph’s wheelchair. He knew Joesph likely didn’t need it for this. But they had a long way to go through airports, since they never put wheelchair pickup anywhere convenient. Plus, he needed Joesph to see something.

Joesph looked twice as confused when Shaw opened the door with his chair waiting. He gave Shaw a questioning look as he swapped from the car to the wheelchair. “Are you sure we’ll make our flight? Whose house is this?”

Shaw huffed. “Can you wait half a second? Dang.”

Joesph held his hands up in surrender. “All right. I trust you.”

Appeased, Shaw steered Joesph to the door. The sidewalk was more than wide enough for the chair and there were no steps. As he unlocked the door, he saw the way Joesph fought not to ask more questions. He didn’t have the luxury of silence any longer when he pushed Joesph into an empty house.

“What do you think? It’s completely wheelchair accessible. You should check out the kitchen. Oh, and it has the perfect space for our home office.”

Joesph spun his chair and focused on Shaw. “This is gorgeous, but we’re technically on our honeymoon and you’re supposed to be relaxing. Not worrying about the future.”

Shaw rolled his eyes. Joesph could be too overprotective at times. “Would you go look? You’ll love it.”

He rolled himself from the wide foyer to the living room. He made it look effortless on the sleek wood floors that were perfect for wheelchair use. From the living room, he rolled into the kitchen. “Oh, wow. I do love it. The cabinets and countertops are all within reach.”

“Good. It’s your wedding gift.”

Joesph spun so fast, Shaw couldn’t believe he kept the chair upright. “What?”

He was more than a little proud of himself for pulling off this secret without giving himself away. “Yeah. While we worked on wedding stuff, our realtor was hard at work. I toured a few places while you were at your doctor’s appointment. One wire transfer later, wedding gift.”

Joesph blinked. “Like that? No closing date? You just bought a house.”

One day, Joesph would realize how money moved mountains. “I’m sure plenty of things went on behind the scenes, but I wasn’t needed for it. That’s what lawyers are for.”

A smile exploded across Joesph’s face. “I love how you just said that, like we’re not lawyers.”

Shaw shrugged. “Even the best attorneys need representation. Only idiots represent themselves.”

For a moment, Joesph simply stared at him. “But really, are you serious? This is a whole house. I can’t afford to buy you a house for a wedding gift.”

“First of all, I got the best gift imaginable when I got you. You gave me that. Secondly, we don’t need another house.

We already have two we need to sell, and now we have a third for us to share.

So that gift wouldn’t work for me. Third, you absolutely can afford to buy me anything. We’re married. Everything is ours now.”

Joesph shook his head. “I can’t believe you bought me a house.”

Shaw shifted from foot to foot. Joesph didn’t sound like he wanted Shaw’s gift. “I mean, if you don’t like it, I’m sure there’s something we can do.”

Joesph pushed his way from his chair. “What are you talking about? I’ve only seen two rooms and I absolutely love it. It’s from you.” He made his way into Shaw’s arms. “You’re the most incredible guy and I don’t deserve you.”

Shaw blew out a raspberry. “You totally deserve me.”

Joesph swiped a kiss across his lips, laughing. “I totally deserve you.”

Shaw locked his arms around Joesph’s waist so he couldn’t get away while he took the kiss he wanted.

Their wedding night had been long and strenuous.

That didn’t stop Shaw from going hard, like no one had touched his dick in years.

His hands slid to Joesph’s ass. He hauled him closer so Joesph could see what he did to Shaw. Shaw found Joesph hard for him too.

“Damn. Are you sure you want to go to Curacao? We could just stay right here. Surely there’s somewhere in this huge place where I can take you down.”

Joesph groaned. “Don’t tempt me like that. I’m a weak man and we need this vacation. We need to walk away from everything for a while. If nothing else, our health needs us to take a break.”

“But you feel so good.” Shaw squeezed Joesph’s ass. “I don’t want to be good.”

Joesph kissed his neck, making things worse.

Finally, he took a step back. “We have to focus on something else. I’m really proud of you for inviting your parents to the wedding.

I know how hard that was, but it was the right thing to do.

One day, you three will work through this, but they would never forgive you if you had gotten married without them. ”

Shaw nodded along, not really hearing a thing. “It only takes fifteen minutes to get to the airport. I can easily get you off in under ten. That leaves us plenty of time to get through security.”

For a moment, Shaw wondered if he angered Joesph with his inability to stay on topic, since Joesph stared at nothing, expressionless. It turned out he worked on the math in his head. “Yeah. Okay.”

With all the permission he needed, Shaw had Joesph half from his clothes, his ass on the counter, and bobbed on his dick in no time.

Joesph gripped the edge, looking like a dying man.

“Fuck, Shaw. You weren’t joking. I don’t think I’ll make it anywhere near ten.

Play with yourself. I want to watch you come. ”

Nothing but happiness and pleasure lived inside Shaw.

He had been so close to ending it all only a few short months earlier.

There was no way he could’ve foreseen this future for himself.

Joesph’s creamy salt coating his tongue made him wonder how he ever thought he could be anywhere Joesph wasn’t.

He definitely couldn’t have pictured himself like this during those dark days—dick in hand and about to blow on the brand-new kitchen floor of the house he would soon share with the greatest of men.

One bad decision had nearly stolen this from him.

Life was funny sometimes. Right now, it was perfect. It was fucking bliss.

Keep an eye out for the next Atlantic City’s Most Wanted: Exposed .