Page 14 of The Bounty
Wags angled his face down, into the kiss waiting for him, toward a future, a home, and a man he also wanted to know better. “Then I’ll be there to take a chance on you too.”
Epilogue
Twelve months later…
Wags checked the time on his phone, half past four, half past time, then paced the length of his flat once more—from the little balcony at the back of the unit, through the compact living-and-dining area, down the long, narrow hallway, past the bedroom with the secondhand furniture he’d bought and the office with the setup that had cost far more, even with the hacker friends and family discount. At the front door, he pulled back the gauzy material that covered the window, expecting an empty landing.
And finding Blaine instead.
“Fucking finally,” he said, wrenching the door open.
“Press complications,” Blaine replied. “Had to take the long way.”
Wags had wanted to pick Blaine up from the detention facility, but expecting that at least a few reporters would want a comment from Blaine on his father’s life sentence, Mel had insisted on doing the honors, on working her connections if a covert exit became necessary. Which it sounded like it had.
“You gonna invite me in?” Blaine said with a smirk, but the devilish grin was belied by the hope and nervousness in his eyes.
Wags was sure Blaine glimpsed the same in his. “It feels like I’ve been waiting forever.” Since the day Mel had met them at the bottom of the private jet’s stairs with Marsh, who’d taken Blaine back into custody. Wags had visited with him, but they’d rarely been alone, and never in their own space.
He opened the door wider, gesturing Blaine inside.
Blaine dropped his bag in the tiny foyer, a hand searing across Wags’s chest before he drifted down the hallway, peeking into the bedroom, then freezing over the threshold to the office, whistling low. He grinned over his shoulder, blinding, and Wags almost missed his words. “Is this all for me?”
“For us.” He stepped behind Blaine and looped an arm around his waist. “Jax said it would have whatever you need so you can do whatever you’re going to do for Redemption. And it’s built for what I need to do for them too.”
Blaine sighed and melted back against him, his contentment bleeding into Wags, filling the emptiness that had lingered the past twelve months. He’d been building a life here in San Francisco, but a crucial part of it had been on the periphery, updated but not fully present.
Until now.
He kissed Blaine’s temple. “Got an even better view to show you.”
“Of you naked, I hope.”
Wags chuckled. He still wasn’t sure what a young man as attractive and smart as Blaine saw in a middle-aged reno project like himself, but he’d stopped questioning it, Blaine’s smile every time they’d visited convincing him this was real.
Blaine had also threatened to send his defense counsel, Helena Madigan, around to convince him, and after being in the Talley-Madigan orbit for the past couple of years, Wags knew Helena was second only to Mel on the Most Terrifying list—and it had nothing to with her courtroom persuasion skills.
“We’ll get to the naked bit soon enough,” Wags said, lowering his arm and snagging Blaine’s hand. “But let me show you something first.” He tugged Blaine farther into the flat and through the door onto the balcony.
If he’d thought Blaine content before, it was nothing compared to the total peace that washed over his face as the misty fog did the same, so thick today that it shrouded the Pyramid completely. Blaine squeezed his hand and leaned back against him. “It’s fucking perfect.”
Wags couldn’t agree more, his London heart at peace here, even more so now that the man he loved was back in his arms. For good. “Welcome home.” The home he’d always wanted, with the person he wanted to share it with. “If you’re still willing to take that chance on me.”
Blaine turned in his arms and brushed their lips together. “Thank you for taking one on me.”
Wags had taken a lot of leaps in his life, but none had ever felt as right as catching the man who leapt into his arms, into his life, and carrying him into their home, into the future they were both willing to take a chance on, together.
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