Something in Common (Dreamspinner Press Bundles)

by Talia Carmichael

  They all laughed. Knowing the four of them and Theron were adopted, and that Gerry was the biological son of their parents, Aristotle could tell they were all close. Blood didn’t matter; they were a family.

  “Hill is the spokesman of the group,” Theron said, capturing his attention. Theron pushed at Hill’s shoulder. “What is that crack about me doing lots for folks?” He pointed a finger at Phillip. “And you about me being slow? We miss you when you don’t get time to come see us, but then your smart mouth gets you or, hell, us in trouble.” Theron trailed off, then turned, staring at the filled interior of the van.

  “Right about now, he’s having an epiphany,” Ollie said.

  “Ohh… Ollie, you said a big word.” Gerry clapped his hands.

  Ollie pushed at Gerry, and then they tussled. Theron turned, got between them, and before Aristotle realized it, he had each of them by the back of their necks, even though they were more muscular than him.

  “Knock it off.” Theron pushed them away from each other.

  “They have no home training,” Phillip said in a conspiratorial tone. Then in a regular voice, he added, “Big brother speaks, so you all listen now.”

  “Hush. You’re the same age as I am. If you were around more, you could help me break our siblings up when they get into it.”

  “True. We’re the same age, but you’re still the oldest by one month. So, big brother and second brother,” Philip replied.

  “You only say that when it suits you,” Theron retorted.

  Aristotle laughed, since his brothers did the same to him. Theron glared at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I am slow. I admit that. But why are you bringing me a truck full of living room furniture?”

  “It’s actually living room, dining room, and a few things for your other rooms. Just to get you started. You can pick the rest when you get a chance.” Aristotle turned, then pushed through Theron’s brothers and went to the front of the truck. “Lawrence, turn it around and back it up.”

  “Aristotle, I can’t just accept all that stuff you brought! Let me pay you for it.” Theron spoke behind him.

  “Housewarming gift,” Aristotle retorted.

  “Dante, how much does the furniture cost?” Theron asked.

  Aristotle stood in front of the truck, waiting for Lawrence to do as he said. Lawrence and Dante were standing by Theron, and Theron’s five brothers were behind him, amused.

  “High six figures. He’s kind of talented at what he does and in demand,” Lawrence said.

  “I know he’s talented.” Theron was staring at him.

  “As well as bossy, don’t forget that. Always telling us what to do.” Dante gave an exaggerated sigh. “Making us work at his furniture place, and he doesn’t pay us.”

  “If you stop talking so much, you could all get more done.” Aristotle folded his arms over his chest.

  “Yep. Bossy all right.” Dante laughed, then went toward the back of the truck.

  Aristotle figured he was closing the back and going to direct Lawrence in parking. Theron and his brothers joined Aristotle in front of the van. Lawrence finally got in and started moving it so the back was to the steps.

  “All the furniture you made for Treble Duo and Triumvirate Deuce is very beautiful.”

  “It wasn’t just me. Byron did the work too.”

  Even before they had broken ground, Bernie, Del, and Bur had spoken with Aristotle about making the majority of the furniture for the centers. He’d agreed because of Bernie and planned to donate his time if they provided the supplies for the project. Aristotle knew it would be a huge task that would take the full year and a few months to complete, and he’d be unable to accept any other custom projects during that time. The Jenkinses would not hear of him taking all that time without being compensated. After coming to an agreement on the details, Aristotle had hired apprentices to help with some aspects, but knew he would need another set of hands to make furniture that would meet his standards. At the time, he hadn’t known about Del’s knack for matching people who were a good fit together in business. Del brought Byron Hilbert to him and left them to talk. Aristotle gave Byron a chance to show him what he could do without really expecting it to work, since he was very particular. But Byron had done more than work out. Aristotle had been able to count on him to match him piece for piece, and they got the contracted furniture finished under the deadline. When they were done, Aristotle gave Byron a big bonus. They still kept in touch.

  “I know he did, but it was your designs he used for all the items. They make Treble Duo feel like a home to the residents and staff. Also, from the time the staff saw their office sets, they’ve commented on how lovely and well made it is.” Theron smiled. “I’ve been giving them your name and website address. You probably have been getting a lot of traffic on your site or requests for custom furniture.”

  Aristotle didn’t know about the website traffic, since it was handled by his assistant. He did, however, see the requests for custom pieces. He’d already been busy with more clients than he could handle, but now there were even more. Theron wasn’t the only one giving out his name. At Triumvirate Deuce, the Jenkinses had had a special plaque made that was on prominent display at the center, which gave acknowledgment to him and Byron Hilbert for the furniture. Between that and them sending people his way, he was swamped.

  “Yeah, I’ve been getting business.” Aristotle watched as Lawrence drove a little down the circular drive, then reversed.

  “No one gives someone such an expensive housewarming gift,” Theron stated. “These must be for one of your clients. You can’t just give it to me.”

  “I have almost two barns full of pieces that clients either didn’t want after all, or didn’t finish paying me for. Either way, I keep the furniture, and they get no refund of their down payment. The furniture is sitting there not being used. It’s just gathering dust. My assistant has been threatening to have a clearance sale to get rid of some of it.” Aristotle shrugged. “I figure I can give you some, and I know you’ll enjoy it.”

  “A long way of saying he wants to get laid.” Link laughed.

  “If I wanted to get laid, there are much easier ways than bringing a truckload of furniture.” Aristotle met each and every one of their gazes as he spoke, then stopped on Theron’s. “I’m doing something for a friend of the family.” He lowered his voice. “A man I want to converse with a little while. I have no expectations of anything but that.”

  Theron inhaled, then narrowed his eyes. “You bastard. Here I was thinking the stories about you were true, that you’re a grumbly bastard. But now you’ve just proven all that false.”

  “Then why are you calling him a bastard? Because if I were gay, I’d so be tapping that after his getting all deep-voiced and sweet,” Hill said.

  Aristotle stared at him, then let out a booming laugh. The others joined him. Then they started bickering over Hill’s choice of words. Theron didn’t join them, but moved closer to Aristotle, reaching out, then stopping. Aristotle grabbed his hand and pulled him close to his side.

  “You guys have a good relationship, like me and my brothers. I’m the oldest too. And I have to keep them in line sometimes.” Aristotle kept an eye on things as Lawrence backed the truck up to where he wanted.

  “Yeah, we all do. When I was a teenager, we hit a rough patch. It was hard when I told them all I was gay. Then Philip right after me, followed by Link, then Gerry too. We’re a close, understanding family, but even with that, it took some of them time to get used to the idea.”

  “You said there are twenty of you. You’re kidding me, right?” Aristotle signaled him to wait a moment, then yelled at Dante, “Tell him left before he hits my truck! I will take it out of his hide if he does!” He focused back on Theron.

  “No joke about twenty of us. Four—two boys and two girls—who are the biological kids, and sixteen—nine boys and seven girls—of us adopted.”

  “How is it even possible to adop
t that many kids?”

  “My parents were well known as foster parents and were able to adopt many of us. But for some, they had to wait until they aged out of the system before they could actually legally adopt them.” Theron sighed. “Even though they lived with us from time, they were children until they were old enough to be considered adults, not in need of foster care. Despite that, we thought of them as our siblings and referred to them as Longorias; they just had to wait to take our family name legally. Which they all eventually did. That’s how I ended up with so many brothers and sisters.”

  “Once we get the furniture situated where you want, I want to hear all about your family and how you became one.” Aristotle looked at his brothers, who were now watching them. “From all of you.”

  “He’s such a sweetie,” Ollie said. “Miley, my wife, is going to love you when she meets you. Heck, the whole family will.”

  Aristotle shrugged. Hopefully it would not be all at once, because he really didn’t like crowds. He looked at Theron, then decided if they got that far, for Theron, he would at least meet his twenty siblings, including whatever family they had, and his parents.

  “You all go in and decide where you want everything. My brothers and I will take care of moving it in.”

  “Nope. We’re going to help.” Link rubbed his back, then groaned. “I know by the time we’re done, my back will be aching. I remember from moving Robert in that some of the pieces you make are heavy as hell.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll give the light pieces to you and your brothers.” Aristotle patted him on the shoulder.

  Link frowned. “I think he just insulted us, brothers. Let’s show them what we Longorias can do.”

  Five of them marched to the truck. Theron pressed against him, laughing. Aristotle’s cock went even harder, and he blew out a breath, knowing this was going to be a long day. He led Theron toward the truck, and they started unloading. With much bitching from both Theron’s and his brothers, they got all the furniture unpacked and placed in the right rooms.

  “This stuff is way better than your bedroom set,” Link commented as he sat on the couch with its plush pillows.

  Aristotle had made the wooden part of it and worked with someone else who did the cushions.

  “I didn’t check it closely. Let me see.” He headed up to the second floor.

  He heard the men following him.

  “My set isn’t so bad,” Theron protested.

  As before, when they brought in one of the bookcases to this room, Aristotle’s gaze was automatically drawn to the king-sized bed, which was on a frame, but with no headboard. He drew his gaze away from the bed and then checked out the rest of the set. The entertainment center, low six-drawer dresser, and nightstands were okay. Not as good as his, but fine. He hadn’t known Theron had five bedrooms, so he’d only brought enough furniture to furnish three of them. Theron had insisted on having it all put in the other rooms, since his was already furnished. There was a headboard in each set too; Theron would have to get the mattresses and box springs for himself.

  “The furniture looks sound.” Aristotle touched the armoire and frowned when it wobbled.

  He bent and could swear he heard a low moan. Aristotle turned his head and met Theron’s gaze. Theron worried his lips and stared at him. Aristotle figured the sound had come from him. He looked at the armoire again, then noted it had a broken leg.

  “I’ll bring my tools by and fix it for you.” He rose, then turned.

  Aristotle bit back an angry rumble as he saw the seven men who had been underfoot and were still not giving them any time alone. They all trekked back downstairs. Aristotle, since he was in the back, grabbed Theron’s arm, then put his finger on his lips and dragged him toward the kitchen. He thanked whoever came up with an idea for the pantry as he pulled Theron inside, closing the door.

  “Wh—”

  He hauled him into his arms and kissed him. Theron went still a moment, then aggressively took over the kiss, pushing his tongue into Aristotle’s mouth, moving it along his own. Groaning, Aristotle moved forward, backing Theron up to the wall between the door and first set of shelves. Theron gripped his head, sliding his fingers into his hair, then held him firmly as he sucked on his tongue. Aristotle enjoyed the taste of Theron’s mouth as he ground against him. He could feel the bulge of Theron’s erection pressing against his own.

  “We’re not going to be working while you all get into each other’s pants.” Lawrence spoke too clearly to be outside the door.

  “I guess furniture is an aphrodisiac after all,” Link added.

  Theron and Aristotle jerked their lips apart, still holding onto each other, and looked out of the now-open pantry. Aristotle growled at the sight of his brothers and Theron’s all crowded in the doorway. He rethought his gratitude for the pantry, since the doorway was large enough for their brothers to be pressed together and spying on them.

  “At this moment, I hate your brothers as much as I want to kill mine,” Aristotle told Theron, still glaring at the men, who all grinned.

  “Ditto for yours and mine.” Theron’s voice was husky.

  “We can kick them out of the house and lock the doors,” Aristotle suggested.

  “Like I’m going anywhere,” Dante said.

  The others echoed the sentiment.

  “Let’s get Theron unpacked so the Longoria brothers can cook for us. They promised us some good food, like their mama makes,” Lawrence said.

  Aristotle knew that, until he was fed, Lawrence would be immovable.

  “And they said we’d watch some movies after we set up Theron’s TV.”

  That meant Dante would not go either.

  “We’re doomed.”

  “Come on. You can get into his pants later,” Link said.

  Aristotle stiffened. He didn’t just plan to get into Theron’s pants. He didn’t want him to think that.

  “What’s wrong?” Theron asked.

  “This isn’t about getting you into bed.” Aristotle kept his gaze steady to make sure he understood.

  “You already said that.” In Theron’s gaze was the absolute faith he believed what Aristotle was saying.

  Aristotle relaxed, then kissed Theron gently before releasing him. They stepped toward the entryway. The other men backed up.

  “We can cook, but I got rid of my pots and pans, and I don’t have any new ones yet. So someone needs to go get them. And groceries too,” Theron said.

  “Send Link. He can’t help with the electronics anyway,” Philip pointed out.

  “Dante and Lawrence brought you a few things for your kitchen as housewarming gifts. That included pots and pans.” Aristotle looked at Link. “Why can’t you be around electronics?”

  “Some claim I’m death to them.” Link glared at his brothers. “They’re all liars.”

  “Then everyone who knows you is a liar,” Theron said.

  Link stuck out his tongue. “I’m not that bad.”

  “You are,” the rest of the Longoria brothers all said.

  “Humph.” Link crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Since we have pots and pans from the generosity of Lawrence and Dante, and Aristotle was too generous with the furniture”—Theron glared at him—“let’s get a list and some money together.”

  Theron wiggled his fingers. Aristotle reached for his wallet and noted his brothers did the same.

  “Stop right there. If any of you pull out money to give to me, I will be taking off some fingers,” Theron warned.

  “How? You don’t have any knives either. Add that to the list,” Link said.

  Aristotle pulled out his hand without taking out the wallet. “They got you that too. Among other things.”

  “What other things?” Theron demanded.

  “You’ll see.” Aristotle headed toward the kitchen door.

  “And I’m adding to my gift. I’m building you a computer system, because the one you have sucks,” Lawrence said.

  Aristotle stoppe
d, looking back at Lawrence in surprise. It was part of what they did in their security firm when needed, but Lawrence was always complaining he didn’t get to build systems anymore.

  “You can’t just build me a system.” Theron shook his head.

  “I’d give in, Theron. Lawrence has that computer-geek lust in his eyes and can’t be stopped.” Aristotle went out of the room.

  He could hear Theron still protesting and Lawrence not giving in. Outside, he went to his truck and opened the back door and started pulling out boxes, then took them inside. Theron’s eyes widened as he saw what he had, and then the protestations increased. Everyone ignored Theron, then finished unloading the truck before tackling the boxes in the house to be worked on. Theron made a list and sent Link to the grocery store. They took a break, had sandwiches, then went to back to setting up Theron in his home. When they were finished unpacking Theron as much as they could—they hadn’t touched his bedroom, the other bedroom, or his office—everyone relaxed in the living room, talking, teasing, and laughing.

  Link came back with the food, and then the Longorias went to cook. From where Aristotle and his brothers were, they could hear the Longoria brothers in the spacious kitchen, playfully bickering with each other as they worked. With Theron gone from leaning on him, Aristotle stood from where he sat on one of the couches and went to the kitchen. He heard his brothers follow, and they sat at the table in the nook and watched as the Longorias cooked. Theron brought them each a beer. He kissed Aristotle briefly before going back to join his brothers in preparing their meal.

  “He and his brothers are funnier and cooler people than Robert said,” Lawrence said.

  “Yes. And big brother here is so gone.” Dante drank from his beer.

  Aristotle didn’t respond, since they were both right. He lifted his bottle, watching Theron as he worked. Already he was drawn to Theron and wanted to be near him. Aristotle thought of what had been said about only wanting to get into Theron’s pants. That wasn’t true, and he’d take it slow to show Theron he wanted to actually know him beyond the physical.