It wasn’t a huge declaration, and it wasn’t the three little words that were dancing around in his head, but the way Grant’s arms tightened, Carter knew he understood. Grant’s whispered words were just for him, deep and filled with emotions that echoed Carter’s, and they were pure Grant. “Of course you have me. You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you go.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love, but the slightly stalkerish sentiment filled the last empty places deep inside of him. Grant might come across as the overbearing one, but Carter knew he’d fight just as hard to keep their relationship alive. New as it was, it felt stronger and better than anything he’d ever dreamed of.
Epilogue
As the barbecue started to wind down, Carter walked over to the long table to grab his plate. Hearing a car door slam, he glanced up. Brent had neighbors, but that’d sounded too close to be one of them. Brent must have thought so, too, because he looked around like a mother hen counting her chicks.
Carter hadn’t met everyone that many times, but aside from Bryce’s guys who were MIA, everyone else seemed to have made it to the party. Bryce was still being cagey about why they weren’t at the barbecue. The fact that he wasn’t saying anything gave Carter some hope for his new friend.
If it’d been a real breakup or something equally as dramatic, Bryce wouldn’t have had any reason to hide it. Since he was keeping it close, only giving vague comments about them being busy, then their relationship might not be a total loss. It was new, but the way Bryce had looked when he’d talked about them told Carter it was something special—and relationships like that didn’t end easily.
The only other real damper on the evening was that Bryce’s turmoil seemed to have put a dent in Wyatt and Garrett’s secret plans. They’d shared some pointed looks and had disappeared into the house for a while. There hadn’t been a private moment to corner Wyatt, but he knew he’d get the full story later. Grabbing the empty plate that looked like it had been licked clean, Carter looked around for Grant.
He was hard to miss.
He was frozen in place, along with just about everyone else. Only a few people, like Wyatt, were confused and looking around. Everyone else was focused on the side of the house as a short, dark-haired woman came around the corner dragging a suitcase that looked nearly as big as she was.
Booming voices all called out at once, startling everyone into reacting. “Mom!”
Wyatt slowly walked up beside Carter as they watched the guys fight for her attention. “Is it bad I hoped she’d stay gone for a while longer? I’m not ready to meet her yet.”
Carter glanced over at his nervous friend. “Wasn’t she supposed to be gone for a couple more weeks?” He could have sworn Grant had said something like that.
Wyatt nodded. “Yes.”
There was no doubt from the glances she was giving Wyatt, Carter, and Calen why she’d come home early. She wanted to see what her boys had been up to. The idea of meeting Grant’s mother made his stomach turn in circles, but the knowledge that Wyatt was a lot more serious with Garrett gave him hope.
He and Grant might be getting serious, but Wyatt and Garrett were way ahead of them. He had a feeling she was going to love that. There was no way those two could keep their plans a secret for long. Wyatt was probably going to have a heart attack, but at least Carter knew he wouldn’t be the center of her attention. He might not be willing to throw Wyatt under the bus, but he wasn’t going to get in its way either.
Friendship only went so far.
He hadn’t even met her yet, but that one short look had spoken volumes. She was curious, and if the stories he’d heard were true, she wanted to see her boys happy and settled down. The dramatic way they spoke about her and how excited she was that they were starting to get in serious relationships was freaky.
Carter knew that his connection with Grant was the best thing that had ever happened to him, but he wasn’t mom-level ready yet. He might have had a closer relationship with his banker than he did with his own mother, but that didn’t mean he was clueless when it came to what real mothers wanted for their children.
Love.
Happiness.
Commitment.
Wedding bells.
Collars.
Well, she’d want collars and ceremonies for her boys, but Carter thought that it was just a more intense version of what other mothers wanted. He knew he wasn’t ready for all that yet. Some of it. Most of it, if he was honest with himself, but would she be able to accept that? Would Grant?
His gentle giant always seemed to know what Carter needed. He couldn’t imagine Grant pushing them into anything they weren’t ready for—but family was hard. Even a loving one that was slightly off their rockers.
Obsession and ridiculous worries aside, he knew how he felt about Grant, and he had a good idea about how Grant felt about him. His Dom wasn’t exactly subtle and that was one of the things Carter loved best about him. He just needed to keep that, and how much he trusted Grant, in the front of his mind and not let the fear take over.
Grant had never given him any reason to question him. Looking over at his bulldozer vying for his mother’s attention, Carter had to fight back a grin. If someone had said he’d be head over heels in love even a month ago, he would have had their head examined. Now he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Standing there with Wyatt and their new extended family, he knew he was where he belonged.
Surrounded by acceptance and love.
~~~
Shaw Montgomery loves reading, traveling, and family. While not necessarily in that order, they all rank pretty close. Shaw has lived all over the United States and even Germany. Current wish list places to travel to are Australia, Italy, and Scotland.
Shaw reads an eclectic mix of genres, everything from Mystery and Sci-Fi Space Westerns, to traditional Romance and all kinds of Erotica. Currently the stories in Shaw’s head are femdom romance and M/m BDSM, although there are some Sci-Fi/Fantasy that can’t wait to come out as well.
Shaw welcomes feedback so feel free to find her on Goodreads or Facebook…
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Also by M.A. Innes
The more taboo side of Shaw Montgomery
His Little Man, Book 1
His Little Man, Book 2
His Little Man, Book 3
His Little Man, Book 4
Curious Beginnings
Secrets In The Dark
Too Close To Love
Too Close To Hide
Flawed Perfection
His Missing Pieces:
My Perfect Fit
Our Perfect Puzzle
Also by Shaw Montgomery
Surrendering to His Lady
Discovering Domination
Submissive Confession (Lord Jordan’s Submissives)
Submissive Defiance (Lord Jordan’s Submissives)
Submissive Exposure (Lord Jordan’s Submissives)
Submissive Acceptance (Lord Jordan’s Submissives)
Bound & Controlled Book 1: Garrett’s story
Bound & Controlled Book 2: Brent’s story
Bound & Controlled Book 3: Grant’s story
Bound & Controlled Book 4: Bryce’s story: Coming September 2017
Grant: A M/m BDSM Romance (Bound & Controlled Book 3) Page 14