by J. M. Dabney
It still amazed him the tight-knit group he’d become a member of in recent years.
“What’s with the scowl?” Twitch bounced up beside him and sat down in the lawn chair next to his.
“I didn’t know I was scowling.”
“Well, you are. So what’s the deal? No, wait,” Twitch ordered, then called over the rest of the partners.
“Am I about to get a Crew Intervention?”
“Do you think you need an intervention, Uncle Linc,” Juvie asked as she stepped up onto the picnic table bench and sat down.
Princess took a seat on the bench and leaned against Juvie’s leg.
“No, I definitely don’t. There’s no reason for it.”
“You’ve been drooling over a certain hot, hairy lead singer for, oh, how long now?” Ben asked with a smirk.
Sometimes he hated that man. Thankfully, Priest was quiet when he joined the group. Priest was quieter and more reserved than the rest, while Priest’s husband didn’t know what not to say. They were an odd combination, yet they somehow worked perfectly.
Elijah slid a chair closer to him, and he groaned because the man was almost as bad a menace as Twitch.
“Three years, I believe, Twitch, three long and sexually frustrated years.”
“Thanks, Eli.”
“You’re welcome.”
The smug grin on the man’s too handsome face irked him.
“How the hell does everyone know my business?”
“That’s easy. You don’t have a poker face.” Twitch bounced a bit in the chair. “When King is on stage, you drool, man, drool.”
Twitch drew the word out several syllables, and he couldn’t help but smile at the man’s exuberance. Twitch was always so bubbly, and it was nice to see a man who’d faced what Twitch had and still possess hope.
“I don’t do something as undignified as drool.”
“Then you’ve never done a blowjob right.”
He jerked his head around to find a serious expression on Elijah’s face. The man had to be a sociopath.
“We’re out,” Juvie announced and dragged Princess away.
“Now, you’ve scared off the children.”
“No, we didn’t. My daughter is a lesbian, she’s not really into the whole dick thing, and Princess’ favorite person is Lily. We’re not saying anything they haven’t heard from Lily.”
Lucky’s mother was worse than her son, Lucky. Who the hell raised children in a Radical Honesty household? It seemed too—weird.
“So, since we’ve found out your blowjob skills are lacking, is it the sex? Do you need advice? We’re all friends here, just ask.”
“What the hell is going on? Brody and I were sent 9-1-1 texts.”
He looked over his shoulder to find Landon and Brody.
“Nothing is going on.”
“Of course there is! You need the D, and King has a fine one for ya.”
“Has everyone seen King’s dick?” He glanced around the group and saw everyone’s head nodding a yes.
“That’s so cute,” Landon said and plopped down on his lap.
The man’s lack of knowledge when it came to personal space made him highly uncomfortable. A slender arm came around his shoulders, and he groaned.
“Don’t be all jealous. If you’d gone to the lake when we’ve invited you, you’d have seen it too. So, what’s going on here?”
“Intervention,” Twitch squealed.
“Oh, we haven’t had one of those since Ben.”
Brody leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Just take it, Linc, they won’t let you escape. Landon is like Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth, but he sits on you until you talk.” The man straightened and barely braced himself before Princess was hugging him, then taking off again to watch over the kids.
“What have we learned?” Landon asked.
“We’ve learned that Linc has terrible—”
“My blowjob skills are exemplary.” His face flamed as his voice rose a bit too much and Juvie barked out a loud laugh nearly tripping as they played Keep Away with Mal as the prize. “I hate you all.”
“No, you don’t, you love us. You know why?” Elijah kicked his ankle.
“Oh, wise one, why is that?”
“Because we’re fucking awesome. The best friends a person could have, and we give the best advice. You have met our husbands, right?”
He answered Elijah, “Definitely.”
“Each one is an asshole, moody, violent, sexy as fuck, possessive and love us unconditionally. Being a Crew husband isn’t the easiest gig around.”
“No, it’s not. Crave gets all growly and punchy when a man pays too much attention. He’s so cute,” Twitch said.
“You calling Crave cute is disturbing. Your husband is a beast.”
Crave was like the Incredible Hulk, he had muscles on top of muscles, and the bastard had an eight-pack. No normal man has one of those, and it earned Crave more shriveled dick steroid jokes than he could count since he’d started hanging out with the crews.
“A very sexy and sweet beast, at least to me. So, what’s holding you back from making your feelings known?”
“How about the whole ex-brother-in-law thing?”
“Is it because his dick was in your sister that freaks you out?”
Priest channeled Lucky, and that was scary.
“Wouldn’t it freak y’all out if you hooked up with your husband’s sibling?”
“We see where you’re coming from, Linc, but are you going to throw away something that could make you happy just because of an insignificant issue?” Brody piped up.
“The man I want was married to my sister.”
Landon sucked his teeth and let out a heaving sigh. “We can’t worry about every person our husbands’ hooked up with before us. What do you want more, to watch the man you love hook up with someone else or get him for yourself?”
Landon always hit below the belt. Elijah and him knew where to hit to make it hurt when someone was being stupid. He hadn’t anticipated developing feelings for King. The attraction was instant. The man was a beast—huge and hairy—it hit all his attraction triggers. What he felt seemed right, but also wrong at the same time. What was he going to do if it all blew up and he lost everything he’d ever wanted?
“You can’t drown yourself in guilt. Being attracted to someone isn’t really up to us. When I saw Scary the first time, oh, fuck, you should’ve been inside my head. He looked mean and acted like he hated me, but I instantly gravitated toward him. Even though I was nervous, I felt safe with him around and then I met Tank. I didn’t see the scars or mind his silence…to me he was perfect. They treat me and each other like we’re the best things to ever happen in their lives. Do you really want to throw aside that because you’re feeling guilty?”
“How about talking to Melanie? You two are close, best friends. Maybe discuss it before saying no.” Landon gave him a hug and laid his cheek on the top of his head.
“I think he should pounce on King when he gets home,” Twitch suggested. “Or tie him to the bed and don’t let him up until he’s begging.”
“Crave lets you tie him up? Wow, your sexy Daddy has secrets.” Landon grinned as he winked at Twitch.
“He likes to make me happy.”
“Anyone within a mile of where you two are fucking knows how happy he makes you.”
He blocked out the conversation and let his mind wander to the pouncing part and away from a bound Crave. How many times over the years had he fantasized about King? The powerful work-hardened muscles. The tanned hair-roughened skin. The way the man filled out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, or the times he’d seen King in nothing but briefs. His thick bush peeking over the waistband.
“Down, boy, you’re not my type.”
“Shut up.”
Landon laughed, and the rest joined in. Sometimes he loved having them as friends, and other times like this, he didn’t understand why he hung out with them.
“You’re so sensit
ive, a sure sign of sexual frustration. So, since you’re going to be an idiot, we’re going to tell you what to do.”
“Is that right, Landon? And what is it that I should do?”
“Claim your fucking man. Life is too fucking short. If we all went with first impressions, most of us wouldn’t be happily married with families. You’re being a dick. King wants you too. You may be blind as fuck, but none of the rest of us are. Do yourself a favor and get your man before someone else snatches up King and you got to watch him get all lovey and dirty with someone else.”
Landon smacked a kiss on his cheek and stood. Everyone but Twitch wandered back to their posts watching the kids play.
“Crave loves me, me. He’s kissed every scar and told me he loved me. I ran too long because I didn’t think I was worthy.”
He turned to watch Twitch stare off into the distance as he spoke.
“I get to wake up to a man who doesn’t judge me for all the times I thought I was weak and needed to take a razor to my skin. Doesn’t look down on me when I need a little more affection on certain days. He just holds me tighter. He makes everything calm. Don’t you want that? Someone to make it calm? To be there to hold you up when you think you’re going to fall or celebrate your accomplishments?”
His heart broke for Twitch. He’d heard the stories. Seen the anxiety that sometimes held the tiny man in a choke hold and the instant relief when Crave simply touched him. Since he’d met the Crews, he witnessed countless times the absolute and unconditional love that existed between the partners. It was beautiful and jealousy-inducing.
“I just don’t know how, Twitch.” He lifted his hand to scratch his beard.
“Falling in love is never easy. It’s not supposed to be. But if we don’t give it a chance, we lose the opportunity for something great.”
“What if I lose him and Mal?”
“I doubt you will. If I know anything, from a lot of years of observation, King is as twisted up in the head as you. Grab it while you can. King is a great guy, and he’s going to make some man a lucky partner one day.”
Twitch left him with that and took off in pursuit of Peace who was still running around with the sari flying behind him. Suddenly being alone, it all crashed down on him. The possibility of losing King and Mal to someone else—someone else loving King and some other man being Mal’s dad. Could he handle that? The answer was no.
He needed to set aside a decade of guilt, and that was going to be harder than anything he’d ever done in his life.
Seven
Broken Bones and Heavy Meds
King felt like he’d drank way too much the night before and was still drunk as he woke. He groaned as he tried to sit up and his head spun. “Shit, what the fuck did I…” He stopped talking as he glanced around. Hospital room. The last thing he remembered was getting back to the garage last night to drop off his truck for the weekend.
“You will never do that shit to me again.” Linc’s pissed off voice took him by surprise.
He jerked his gaze to the door and instantly regretted it as his stomach turned over onto itself.
“What the hell happened?”
He flopped back onto the bed and raised his hands to cover his eyes. He tried to remember. Did he hit his head?
“You decided to help out in the garage last night before coming home. Brakes failed on a rig coming in, and you jumped to get out of the way and rolled against a stack of barrels. They came crashing down and hit just right, breaking your leg in two places.”
“How bad?”
“Luckily clean breaks didn’t require surgery, but you’re sidelined for a while.”
“Shit, what am I supposed to do—”
“Your boss said your benefits will cover bills and all until you’re back at work.”
“Why do I feel drunk?”
“They got you on the good meds.”
“Where’s Mal?”
“He’s crashing with Mary.”
“Mary?”
How fucking hard did he hit his head?
“Yes, Mary. I called everyone I could, but Bear is at some convention, and Joker and Dem are out at the shack for their anniversary. Brawlers Crew is all-hands-on-deck. Twirled Crew are also away at some convention. Lily and Damon were a bit…indisposed. Harper and Ghost went to Atlanta to see Lou and for a prenatal appointment. And Sin and Saint went to see their mother because she needed Saint to act as pilot for a survivalist weekend. The guy that was supposed to do it got food poisoning.”
“Was she okay—”
Linc waved off his question. “She was great. When I left Mal, her and Killer were curled up on the couch watching cartoons and eating popcorn.”
“Okay, I know Mary—”
“Mary is fine, and I think her and Bear have something going.”
“Really?” The more he tried to think, the more his head pounded. He had to be having some fucked up dream—a parallel universe type shit.
“Yep. Because if I’m not mistaken, she was wearing one of Bear’s favorite t-shirts.”
“He hasn’t—”
Bear told him everything. The man was more than his uncle; Bear became one of his best friends.
“Let them have their privacy.”
“How long before I get out of here?”
“They want to keep you for a few days until the swelling goes down and they can cast your leg.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I was going to take you to dinner tomorrow night and let you get some—”
“I don’t need alone time, King, I love spending time with Mal and you. I thought about it, and I’d like the guest room, but we’ll talk about that later. Right now, you’re going to get some rest.”
“Is Melanie coming home?”
“Not until next weekend. I sent her a bus ticket. Get some sleep.”
“Thanks, honey.”
He reached for Linc’s hand, laced their fingers and pulled the man down. He groaned as Linc’s weight landed on his chest. Linc’s forearms were braced on the bed beside his head. Fuck, Linc was beautiful to him, the weight of him perfect, and heavy meds be damned, his body responded. He’d only meant to give him a hug, take advantage of a moment of selfishness, but it turned into something else. Linc’s eyes were wide, and his full lips parted.
There was no time to think, just one kiss, it was all he’d take. He tilted his head and curved his right hand around the back of Linc’s neck. The anticipation built in the microseconds until he brought their mouths together. He groaned at the softness of Linc’s lips; the coarseness of his man’s beard and Linc was his. Linc stiffened against him, and he didn’t want to give Linc the chance to pull away.
He flicked his tongue along the tight seam of Linc’s lips. He tasted Linc’s soft gasp. Savored the way Linc settled his weight heavier on him. He kept their fingers linked as he moved his arm around Linc’s waist and pinned Linc’s right hand at the base of the man’s back.
He slowly seduced a response from Linc. Soft brushes, sharp nips, and gentle sucks at the supple curves of Linc’s lips. He groaned deeply as Linc opened and he deepened the kiss, teased his tongue over Linc’s. And then Linc was his, the kiss intensified—roughened, and the sounds Linc made became higher and needier. Linc’s fingers played with his hair. Short nails scored his scalp.
That’s his man, sweet and loving. His high feeling bloomed and had nothing to do with the meds. Yes, the caress of their lips was desperate and hungry, but it wasn’t hurried. They savored the moment. He’d waited years for this and no way would he rush it.
Linc mumbled and tried to pull away.
“Where you going, honey? Stay right where you are,” he ordered. He tightened his arm around Linc to keep him in place.
“What are you doing? Your meds—”
“Nothing to do with meds, nothing at all. So sexy. Soft. You want me, don’t deny it, please.”
He shifted and drew attention to their hard cocks trappe
d between them. Linc’s was trapped behind denim, but he didn’t have that luxury. The thin gown didn’t hide the thickness of his dick pushing into the softness of Linc’s stomach.
“We can’t. What happens…”
They exchanged small kisses as they spoke. Linc’s eyes were heavy-lidded and blissed out. He wondered if the man would have the same expression when he was deep inside Linc or Linc balls deep in him. Either way, he couldn’t wait to find out.
“You said yes to our date.”
“I thought it was a thank you dinner.”
“Date. We might have to wait until…shit.” He hissed as his leg suddenly made its condition known.
“Oh shit, fuck, I have to get—”
He didn’t fight Linc’s retreat. The pain quickly grew to excruciating, and his hard-on was only a pleasant memory. He couldn’t even bring himself to half-heartedly tease Linc about his out of character cursing.
“I’ll get the nurse…just hold on.”
Linc was gone, and agony caused his stomach to turn again. He wouldn’t puke, he wouldn’t—he took deep breaths and tried to focus on their first kiss and nothing else.
Two days and they finally sprung him from the hospital. He was glad to be home, but Linc was skittish. The man refused to look at him. Linc kept busy with Mal and getting everything ready for when Melanie came home. He felt as if he’d fucked up. The kiss they shared had nothing to do with meds or pain, he’d tried to explain, but Linc couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
He wanted it all, Linc as his partner and husband. Sharing a life raising Mal together like they’d always done. Maybe he’d made a mistake. The kiss had taken Linc by surprise, and he’d been under the effect of painkillers.
Linc had taken Mal to the store for groceries. When he needed advice, he called two people—Melanie or Bear. Melanie would throw around a lot of I told you sos, so he called Bear instead.
“How ya doing, son?”
King snorted, the man was barely a decade older, but always called him son.
“I can barely get around, and Linc and Mal abandoned me.”
“Linc called and said he was going to the grocery store and asked me did I need anything. So I doubt he abandoned your ass.”