Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
He leaned closer to Darius and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Can I convince you to take a midnight swim with me?”
Darius smiled drowsily. “I was wondering when you were gonna ask. Sure.”
Oh dear, did he already find Gray predictable?
They left their lounger, and Gray put on his charm for Ryan, the resident bartender, to mix them some drinks.
Darius pulled his tee over his head and furrowed his brow. “One might think I’d be your resident bartender.”
“Don’t be jealous, big brother,” Ryan drawled. “It ain’t a good look on you.”
Gray snorted softly and stripped down to his boxer briefs. “Baby, let your brother serve us. If he’s a good boy, I’ll even tip him.”
Ryan didn’t look so smug anymore.
Darius did.
“I have a problem with vanilla brats,” Ryan stated.
Reese and Greer laughed.
“I have a problem staying awake,” Cullen yawned. “I think I’mma call it a night and see how my boy’s doing.”
Yeah, Crew hadn’t been out here. His uncle Greer had brought him pizza and soda, but the guy was understandably beat.
“Don’t forget to take your antibiotics,” Gray reminded. “But thank you for not drinking alcohol.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have a couple extra drinks at the pool tomorrow before we go home.” Cullen smirked at Gray’s heavy sigh before he limped toward the bungalow he shared with his son.
Darius was first to dive into the pool, his ass looking all kinds of hot in those boxer briefs. Thigh porn, ass porn, whole body porn. Gray let out a breath and jumped in after, and the water was perfect. Not too warm, not too cold.
“Hey, Doc, can I swim too?” Ryan asked.
Gray pushed back his hair and wiped water from his face. “You know the answer to that, and if you really wanted to jump in, you sure as hell wouldn’t ask for my permission.”
Darius rumbled a warm chuckle. “He’s got you pegged, Ry.”
“There will be no fucking pegging here,” Ryan muttered, pouring vodka into two glasses. “I wanna jump in, but at the same time…fuck. I’m tired. I miss my kids. I miss waking up with Angel and Greg wrapped around me.”
Gray smiled a little and swam over to Darius near the edge. He felt so damn lucky to have his man here. But yeah, missing the kids was brutal.
“What about you, man?” Reese nodded at Greer with a smirk. “Do you miss your fourteen husbands and two hundred kids?”
Gray quirked a brow, curious.
Greer laughed under his breath and poured whiskey into a glass. “The whole mad bunch.”
Ryan was the type of man who asked the personal questions. “Do you have yourself a harem or what?”
Greer shook his head, still amused. “Nah, just a big family. We’re four partners and five kids, with one on the way.”
Hot. Damn.
Ryan let out a low whistle.
It was a good moment for Gray to tune out and focus on his own Big Daddy, so he swam straight into Darius’s arms and latched on while the three filthy kinksters on land started talking about BDSM.
“Can you imagine? Four people in one bed?” Gray asked quietly.
Darius grinned faintly. “Sounds like a regular Tuesday when Justin and—”
“Oi! Your drinks.” Ryan left them their cocktails on the pool’s edge. “Don’t forget that tip, Gray. I will accept an extra lobster tail with my steak at the reception.”
“Noted.” Gray smirked and returned his attention to Darius.
Their reception was going to kick ass in the luxury department. Since Mom’s inn had been fully booked for another wedding, they couldn’t have the ceremony there. So they’d moved it to the marina. They’d get married right there on the pier, then host the reception at Darius’s restaurant, where guests had been given the options of surf and turf, salmon, or scallops.
“By the way, you haven’t given me your I’m-so-proud-of-you speech yet,” Gray pointed out. “And don’t skimp on the you’ve-come-so-far-knucklehead bit.”
Darius chuckled and gathered Gray’s legs around him. By now, they were at the center of the round pool, and it was effortless to tune out the rest of the world altogether.
“I think I’m done with those speeches,” Darius murmured. “You know I’m proud. You know you’ve come far. If you showed me anything tonight, it’s that you’re my equal in the field. You have your skill sets, you’re confident, you take initiative. You’d make one hell of a contractor, Gray. And the best partner I could ever find.”
For not being a speech on pride, he sure made Gray feel ten feet tall.
“I had a fantastic teacher.” He closed the distance between them and kissed Darius. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” Darius slipped his hands down Gray’s boxer briefs as they teased their tongues together, and shivers upon shivers of pure bliss ran down Gray’s spine. “Now I want our lives to return to normal, though.”
“Me too.” Gray ghosted his fingers along Darius’s scruffy jaw and couldn’t wait to get back to life on their mountain. Where every day was structured to make room for both regular work and the chores that pushed them closer toward total self-reliance.