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S tephan huffed as he gave the couch one last shove. “There, all done.” He wiped the sweat from his brow.

It had been two months since they’d talked to the Zaytari, and secured Jayden’s position, and finally their bedroom was ready.

In the Second Realm, furniture was magically enhanced to make it stand up a bit better against an immortal’s strength. Something entirely understandable, but why did they have to make everything so fucking heavy?

Of course, Stephan appeared to be the only one having an issue. Liam and Jayden hadn’t seemed to struggle at all.

“Having problems, Sweetie?” Jayden chuckled as he sat down on one of Stephan’s fluffy pink chairs.

“Shut up!” Stephan stuck his bottom lip out and pouted. He stomped over to his bed, plopped down on the edge, crossed his arms, and glared at nothing in particular.

Well…it wasn’t just his bed now. It was their bed. When they’d started the move, they’d decided to share a room. After a few renovations, their bedroom was a mixture of black and pink. The walls were black with a pink filigree design, and the floors were pink marble, but had a fuzzy black rug on top. The furniture was a mixture of the stuff he had in his old room, and the new, mostly black stuff they’d recently purchased.

There was…not enough pink, if you asked him, but Jayden refused to sleep in a completely pink room. The frustrating man also refused to sleep surrounded by stuffed animals. The rule now was that Stephan was allowed to sleep with one. One! How could Jayden think he could possibly choose one out of the hundreds he had?!

His poor collection now took up the wall to the left of the door that led out into the hallway, displayed on built-in shelves that went from the floor to the high ceiling. It wasn’t fair. He just wanted to cuddle with all the fluff. If Jayden would just try it, Stephan was sure the vampire would understand!

Grinning, Jayden sat next to him and wrapped his arm around Stephan’s shoulder. “Still pouting about your stuffed animals, Pudding Pie?”

“No—” His words froze in his throat as he realized what Jayden had just called him. “P-pudding P-pie?”

“I thought I’d try it out. Liam said nicknames are a must for couples.” The man tilted his head. “What about Cupcake?”

“You’re not calling me a baked good!” Stephan screeched. “What’s wrong with Sweetheart?”

Jayden stared at him vacantly. “Liam pointed out it wasn’t cute enough. I thought about it and decided I agree.”

“Why the hell does it have to be cute?!”

The vampire blinked. “You’re cute.”

“I am not!” Stephan snapped .

Completely ignoring his protest, Jayden snapped his fingers and said, “Hunny Bunny!”

Stephan gasped in horror. “You cannot call me that!”

Jayden nodded and grinned. “I like it. Hunny Bunny it is.”

“Jade!” he whined.

Liam, that bastard! He did this! Oh, Stephan was so going to make him pay.

Kissing him on his forehead, Jayden continued to smile. Stephan sighed. Well, at least Jade was happy.

It was something the man was doing a lot lately—smiling, that is. Not that he hadn’t smiled before, but they had been snarlier, more like sneers.

Jayden seemed to be happier than ever before. It may have been a bit conceited on his part, but Stephan thought it was because they were together. Well, he hoped it was, as Stephan was happier, too.

His fears also seemed to be lessening. Stephan felt more comfortable with his desires now. Though they still hadn’t had intercourse—not that they hadn’t done a lot of other stuff, or that he hadn’t tried for more. Jayden had wanted to wait, though, insisting Stephan wasn’t ready yet.

To be honest, considering when he’d asked, Jayden had probably been right. However, now he was ready. Stephan wanted to join with him—even though he still wasn’t sure the man would fit.

“That’s the last of it, right?” Jayden asked.

“For now. We’ll have to move the books once the library renovations are done, but that’s about it, and I’ll be hiring someone for that, so…it’s not really work for us. As for the spare rooms, they can be finished ov er time.”

Jayden grunted and pulled him onto his lap, before resting his chin on top of Stephan’s head.

At a knock on the door, Stephan called out, “Come in.”

Liam walked in. “It’s time for you to meet the group.”

Stephan gently patted Jayden’s leg, when the vampire tensed at his Godfather’s words. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

Hopefully, it would be fine, because Stephan could only assume these were the people Jayden would be working with for a long, long time. Oh, maybe Jayden will make some friends?!

Or, he thought with a sigh, maybe he will just make a whole lot of enemies…