“Cute shirt,” he says playfully, echoing the first words he ever spoke to me the day that I stepped into that intimidating conference room alongside Sterling to pitch them the idea of investing in our mobile library idea.
I smile and cross the room to kiss him just one more time. Well, one more time for right now. There’s no way I’ll ever get enough of him.
Our friends arrive a short time later, and Kiernan fires up the grill on the back patio while we all get comfortable around the pool. Sterling, Nolan, and I sit on the edge of the pool with our feet dangling into the water while Barrett, Alden, and Gannon sit on the patio furniture, discussing work from the sounds of things. Boo. Boring.
It’s hard to miss the looks Gannon keeps shooting at Nolan, a little bit of longing and a whole lot of heat. But they’re nothing compared to the way Alden is looking at the quiet, broody man. Seems complicated if you ask me, but maybe they’ll figure it out. For what it’s worth, Nolan keeps shooting covert peeks at both of them.
“It’s so pretty,” Sterling says, eyeing my collar. “Daddy, I want a collar.”
Barrett pauses his conversation and smiles at his boy. “You’ve got it, Pretty Boy.”
Something tells me that’s his answer for just about anything Sterling asks for. Not that I have any room to talk, considering how much my Daddy spoils me.
If you would’ve told ten-year-old me that one day I’d have not only best friends but a man who loves me so wholly I can feel it in every look and touch he gives me, I’m not sure I would’ve believed it. I used to lie awake at night and imagine a life like this, full of love and laughter and acceptance, but part of me never thought it would be real. Maybe that’s why I fell in love with fictional worlds so fully; I thought they might be the only place true happiness existed. Now I have the real thing, and I’m never letting it go.
Kiernan strides over and lifts me up, making me laugh in surprise as he swings me into his arms and kisses me, a hard, quick peck on my lips before setting me back down.
“W-what was that for?” I ask, regaining my balance.
“It’s impossible to see you and not kiss you,” he explains with an unrepentant grin.
Nolan sighs from behind me, and I turn to see him watching the two of us with a wistful expression. “Okay, so maybe a Daddy doesn’t seem like the worst thing ever,” he concedes. “Still not sure I want to follow rules though.”
Sterling giggles.
“That’s what spankings are for,” Kiernan explains, waggling his eyebrows and drawing more laughter from all three of us.
“I l-love you, Daddy.” I wrap my arms around him and press my face into his bare chest for a moment, reminding myself again that this is all real: my life, the love he has for me, all of it.
“I love you too, Brave Boy.” He presses his nose to the top of my head, his hot breath tickling my scalp. “More than anything.”
“Mm-more than anything?” I tease. “Mm-more than diamonds and fancy c-c-cars and books?”
“More than every breath in my lungs and every star in the sky,” he answers, and I make a mental note to add that absolute swoon to my next book. Something tells me Kiernan is going to give me endless inspiration. One day we’ll both be old and wrinkly, and he’ll still be saying the sweetest things to me. I can totally live with that.
“Me too, Daddy.” I squeeze him tighter and let myself feel all of this impossibly big love inside me. Only for Kiernan. Always for Kiernan. With Daddy at my side, I know I can be anything, especially the brave boy I’ve always wanted to be.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Emerson
“Th-th-this is a horrible idea.” I pace back and forth beside the stage. Well, not exactly a stage, but a cleared area of the shop where I set up a microphone and some lighting for the open mic nights that I stupidly decided to start hosting.
“It’s going to be brilliant,” Kiernan insists, grabbing my wrist and tugging me closer.
I shake my head and bury my face in his broad, familiar chest. “I c-c-c-can’t.”
“You can,” he says firmly. “Remember what I said?”
I shake my head again, even though I remember exactly what he said. I’ve thought about it a million times in the past year, holding it close whenever I feel less than brave.
“Yes, you do.” Of course he sees right through me. “Anyone who would judge or make fun of you for something you can’t control is saying more about themselves than they are about you.” Daddy tilts my head up and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “You are fucking brilliant and beautiful and brave as all hell. You’ve got this.”
I take a deep breath and eye the stage again. Sterling agreed to emcee the very first open mic night at Unicorn Books, and he’s already standing in front of the microphone stand, waving at a few customers and fellow artists who are planning to do readings or performances tonight as well.
“W-w-w-ww-wish me l-luck.”
“You don’t need luck.” Daddy gives me one last squeeze and then spins me around to point me toward the stage.
“Welcome, y’all,” Sterling says cheerfully. “We’re so happy to have everybody here for the first of many open mic nights at Unicorn Books. We’ve got snacks and coffee on that table over there, and we hope y’all enjoy all the talented artists we have tonight. To start the evenin’ off, the owner of the shop himself, Emerson Brooks.” He waves me up with an encouraging smile.
How many deep breaths can I take before I just have to take the plunge and step up into that blindingly bright spotlight? I cast one last look at Kiernan seated in the front row, giving me a thumbs up.
I had no idea when I made that M4M: Kink profile that it would change my life the way it has. Would I ever have been brave enough to tell him how I was feeling in person? I’d like to think I would. After all, he’s shown me a million ways to be brave in the past year. Then again, it’s easy to be brave when I know my Daddy is always there to catch me if I fall.
I mouth “I love you” in his direction and then square my shoulders and step in front of the microphone.
“H-h-h-hi, everyone.” I fiddle with the paperback in my hands, already opened to the page I want, the spine creased from how many times I’ve read these paragraphs aloud over and over for the past few weeks in preparation for tonight. Maybe I should’ve picked something a little less risqué for my first public reading, then again, when have I ever done things by half? No need to start now. “I’m g-g-going to read f-f-from…” I hold up the book to show off the title. No need to waste words on something they can all see. “I w-w-wrote it…obviously.” The audience chuckles, and I roll my eyes at myself, my cheeks heating. “Anyway, here w-w-w-we go.”
I lick my lips and dive in. “C-C-C-Caleb’s hole was aching to be stretched and used by Dominic. He’d thought of nothing else for weeks now…mm-maybe months. Time seemed to cease to have any meaning when Dominic entered the room. He somehow managed to become the very center of Caleb’s universe, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. There was nothing Caleb wanted to do about it, other than bend over and shamelessly beg the sturdy, dominant man to have his way with him.
“S-s-s-such a pretty little slut,” Dominic purred, taking Caleb’s face between his large, calloused hands and stroking his cheeks with his thumbs. It was all the shy sub could do to keep from shaking. He darted his tongue out to wet his lips and nodded. He’d be happy to be Dominic’s slut. He’d be happy to be Dominic’s anything…or better yet, his everything.”
I only stumble a few times as I fall into a rhythm, pausing when I need to in order to gather my words before continuing. Every time I look up, I see all of my friends in the front row, right beside Kiernan, all appearing riveted by my words. My confidence grows with every word out of my mouth until I finally reach the end, and the audience sits silently for a few seconds before erupting into applause. I let out a relieved breath and step away to cede the stage back to Sterling.
“Wow.” He fans
himself. “I think we all need a cold shower after that one.”
Everyone laughs in agreement, a few people catcalling. I smile and slip into the seat next to Kiernan, who, to my surprise, stands up.
“Our next performer, well… I’ll just let him explain.” Sterling gestures to Kiernan.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, and my Daddy smirks at me.
“You’ll see,” he says with a wink before striding up to the stage. He adjusts the microphone to the right height and then smooths his hands down the front of his shirt. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was nervous. “Hi. I’ll be honest, the only talent I have isn’t one you folks came to see tonight.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I snort a laugh. These people should be so lucky. “No, I’m not half as talented as the sweet, incredible man I have the privilege to call mine.” He looks at me, and my hand goes immediately to the soft leather collar that rests around my neck, where it’s been since the day he gave it to me. “But something’s been bothering me recently,” he goes on, and I frown, tightening my grip on my collar. “Emerson, my brave, perfect boy…” He reaches into his pocket and drops to one knee.
My breath catches, and I jump out of my chair. “W-w-w-what are you doing?” I ask for a second time, my throat going dry. Is this for real? I’m dreaming, right? I have to be dreaming.
Kiernan pulls a small, velvety box out of his pocket and pops it open to reveal a surprisingly simple silver band. “I don’t want to live another day of my life without you. You’re already mine, and I’m already yours, but why don’t we go ahead and make it official?”
I nod rapidly, not trusting my voice. But just in case there’s any confusion, I launch myself at him, tackling him in a kiss and smiling against his lips.
“Is that a yes, sweetheart?” he checks, laughing against my mouth.
“Yes,” I whisper, letting him take my hand and slip the ring into place.
The collar already meant forever to me, but the ring is nice too. Either way, I already planned to spend the rest of my life with Daddy, making each other happier and better every single day. Forever and ever. And then hopefully a little longer after that.
The End
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INKED: A HEATHENS INK SPIN-OFF SERIES
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About the Author
K.M. Neuhold is a complete romance junkie. Pansexual and polyamorous, she often describes herself as being in love with love. She loves to write stories full of bearded, cinnamon roll men who get super swoony HEAs. Her philosophy is there’s so much angst and sadness for LGBT characters in media, all she wants is to give them the happiest happily ever afters she can with little angst, tons of humor, and SO MUCH STEAM. K.M. fully admits to her tendencies of making sure every side character has a full backstory that will likely always lead to every book turning into a series or spin-off. When she's not writing she's a lion tamer, an astronaut, and a superhero...just kidding, she's likely watching Netflix and snuggling with her husky while her amazing husband brings her coffee.
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Brave Boy (Perfect Boys Book 2) Page 19