Bryce
“Do you want to talk about it?” Wyatt came up quietly beside Bryce, watching the chaos as people tried to clean up after the barbecue.
“I don’t know.” Bryce had appreciated that everyone hadn’t bombarded him. Wyatt and Carter had possessed enough common sense to hold Garrett and Grant back, so he’d been pleased not to get the third degree. “Maybe.”
“Contrary to popular rumors,” Wyatt said as he gave him a little grin, “I can keep a secret.”
“I heard you were a chatty little birdie with Grant and Carter.” Bryce cracked a smile, the first one in hours.
“I was not that bad.” Wyatt sighed dramatically. “Carter needed a kick in the pants, so I gave Grant some hints to help him manage the crazy minefield around Carter’s heart.”
Wyatt grinned, very pleased with himself. “And it worked. Look at those two.”
Grant was following Carter around, leaning close and whispering things that clearly made Carter nuts as they were trying to pack up the food. They were so different that he knew most people wouldn’t have paired them together, but they worked and looked very much in love. Even if Carter seemed to be trying not to deck Grant.
They watched as Carter turned around, one hand on a popped-out hip, and waggled his finger at Grant. They only caught the word cookies, but Grant gave Carter a puppy dog look and shook his head. “He had to get out the big guns.”
“Threatening to tell where the cookies are hidden is big around here.” Wyatt giggled, enjoying the crazy.
“Grant’s been making him nuts for the last hour. I think he’s talking to him about the club.” Bryce had caught them several times making out in quiet corners of the yard, while Grant whispered about the things Carter would see. “Do you think he’ll be ready to go in two weeks?”
“Who, Carter?” Wyatt glanced at Bryce. “Yes, he’s just nervous. It’s really different from anything he’s done before, and I think he’s just building it up in his head.”
“I hope he enjoys himself.”
“He just needs a push.” Wyatt sounded very sure, so Bryce tried not to worry. He could remember the first time he’d gone to a club, but he’d had support and a lot of friends in the lifestyle by that point.
“I told Troy and Oliver not to come today.” He hadn’t meant to throw the words out there, but they came out anyway.
“Because of your mother?”
“Yes, partly. How did you know?”
“She doesn’t seem like the subtle type. I can’t see her hiding it from everyone. And then there’s the little bit about her knowing where to find you guys. I know you usually have a barbecue, but she couldn’t have been that sure about everyone being here unless she’d talked to one of you.”
“The guys are going to figure it out soon.” Brent didn’t feel like figuring out what they were going to do to him.
“Oh, yeah, I’d hide the cookies if I were you.”
“The last time she put me in the middle, they pretended to understand and took me out for drinks. They got me stinking drunk, then dropped me off at home after they’d short-sheeted my bed and moved all the furniture around. Between my struggle to figure out the bed and trying not to freak out when I realized the lamp was on the ceiling, I thought I was going crazy. I had nightmares for days about accidentally walking into other people’s houses and being abducted by aliens.”
“How did you get them back?” Wyatt’s eyes were lit up.
Bryce knew his grin was wicked, but it pushed back the worry. “I had a friend from college who owns a dog food company. He arranged for pallets of dog food to be delivered to Brent’s house because he was the mastermind. They showed up randomly for months, just waiting in his driveway. One time, I even managed to get it in his living room. He just about killed me, but he couldn’t prove I did it.”
Wyatt giggled and said, “You guys are insane.”
“Probably.” Bryce just shrugged. “It also takes a special brand of interesting to join the family, though.” He gave Wyatt an I-know-what-you’re-hiding look.
Wyatt blushed. “This is not going to help convince you that I can keep a secret. But yes, we were going to talk to everyone about setting the date for our collaring ceremony. We’d planned on calling your mother tomorrow to tell her, but now we’ll figure out something different.”
“You could invite everyone over to a welcome home dinner for Mom?” Bryce glanced over at Wyatt to see his reaction.
“That’s a good idea.”
“It would be a lot of work, but—”
“No, it won’t be that bad. Maybe later this week, so they don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary.” Wyatt’s mind started to whirl as he began to plan. “But what about you?”
“Me?”
Innocent wasn’t working on Wyatt because he shook his head, waiting. Bryce sighed. “I don’t know. With her coming today, I didn’t want to throw them into the chaos. And as much as I know she wants me to be happy and won’t care about me having two partners, I worry about how it will affect the business. Did you hear about my temp?”
Wyatt nodded, regret etched into his features. “I did. Most of your insureds won’t care or even notice, unless you guys get really crazy in the office.”
Bryce snickered. “I’ll do my best.”
Wyatt snorted. “I’m beginning to see that doesn’t mean the same thing in this family. It’s more like I’ll try unless I can talk you into something else.”
Bryce gave a low chuckle. “Oh yeah.”
“What else happened?”
Bryce thought that was a very good question. One that he wasn’t sure he had the answer to.
Confused, he started with what felt like the biggest thing in his head. “I just didn’t like how it felt to put Oliver and Troy in firing range of someone like that.” Bryce shuffled everything around in his head, trying to put it into words. “There are always going to be idiots who say something about us being gay, but this time it was because of me. She would have kept her ridiculous comments to herself if I hadn’t added myself to the picture.”
“So two gay guys should be acceptable but not three together?” Wyatt gave him an understanding look. “Who gets to define that?”
“I know, but—”
“There’s always going to be someone who thinks me getting spanked or kneeling for Garrett is wrong. I can’t let that stop me, though. Sure, it makes me nervous and I worry, but I can’t let that fear keep me from living my life like I need to. Do you need them? I think that’s what you have to decide.”
Wyatt looked over to Garrett, who was trying to referee something between Calen and Brent. “I love him, but I also need what we have. I’m not going to lose that because of someone else.”
Bryce threw one arm over Wyatt’s shoulders. “When did you get so smart? It certainly wasn’t hanging around this mess.”
Wyatt laughed, shoving Bryce with his hip. “I love your family. Shame on you.”
“Yes, he should be ashamed of himself. For several reasons.” The sharp words coming from behind Bryce had him wincing.
Damn. How long had she been there?
He turned around. “Sorry, Mom.”
“Don’t ‘sorry’ me.” She gave Wyatt a pat on the shoulder. “Wyatt, dear, why don’t you go distract Garrett before Brent and Calen go after him?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wyatt gave Bryce a you’re-on-your-own look and escaped.
“He’s so sweet.” She smiled as she watched Wyatt hurry away.
Bryce couldn’t even respond before she continued, giving Bryce a disappointed look. “Of course, I didn’t get to meet your young men.”
He winced again. “There was just a lot—”
“Do not give me that line. Why didn’t you bring them? I heard several people raise that question when they thought I wouldn’t notice.” She didn’t seem to appreciate her children trying to keep it from her.
He tried to talk, but she barreled over him again. “Your father and I both would support anyone you love. No matter what they liked or who they were. It doesn’t matter that there are two of them. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that counts.”
He gave her a questioning glance, not even bothering to actually talk. She gave him another look like he was acting ridiculous and charged in again. “You may lose some insureds, but I think you’ll be surprised. Enough about you boys’ escapades has gotten out over the years that they can’t be shocked.”
Bryce looked away, afraid of what his face would reveal. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about exactly, but he didn’t want to start confessing things she might not know. She made another one of those mom sounds that always let them know when she was disappointed and frustrated.
“I think you need to go fix this, don’t you?” She stretched up to kiss his cheek. “Go on. You shouldn’t leave this. I bet they’re worried.”
He gave her a hug. “Thanks. Love you, Mom.”
“Go on. You can’t butter me up until you have your men so I can meet them. Go on, or I’ll sic your brothers on you.” She gave him a deceptively innocent smile. He couldn’t help but think about how much Oliver would be able to learn from her.
He headed out to his car, grateful that people didn’t stop him to ask questions. Bryce wasn’t sure what he would have even said. Telling everyone he was going to Oliver and Troy’s house to grovel didn’t sound like something he needed to share—even if it was the truth.
The drive over didn’t take nearly long enough. He’d thought the words would come to him on the drive over, but they hadn’t. He hadn’t even called them yesterday. They’d talked so often he couldn’t remember a whole day going by recently where he hadn’t at least talked to them on the phone.
What were they thinking?
Words and emotions were turning in his head as he walked up to the door. The countdown in his brain only had seconds left before he had to figure it out, and suddenly even those precious few were gone.
Oliver opened the door.
He was quiet, but Bryce didn’t feel unwelcome, just sorry that he’d upset Oliver. “Hi, kitten.”
Bryce watched as Oliver relaxed, finally giving him a smile. “You know you’re in trouble, right?”
Now that he knew Oliver wasn’t mad, he gave him a dramatic sigh, cuddling close and dropping his voice to a whisper. “Can’t you save me from him? I’m sure you know just what to do. I’ll make it worth your while.”
Oliver giggled, shaking his head. “I can’t give away my secrets. You’ll have to learn them on your own.”
“Will I get a spanking for being an idiot?” That didn’t actually sound too bad. However, he didn’t think it would be that easy.
Oliver leaned into Bryce’s embrace. “No, worse, he’s going to—”
“Make you talk it out.” Troy’s voice came from the doorway where he leaned against the frame, crossing his arms. “Upstairs, you two.”
Bryce gave Oliver a quick glance. “We’re going to get tied to the bed again, aren’t we?”
“Yup.” Oliver nodded, starting to head inside to follow directions. “And I know that look. He might have you tied up for a long time.”
Bryce didn’t understand the look on Oliver’s face. He was missing something. “As a punishment?”
“No.” Oliver’s look turned tender as he walked up the stairs. “Until you understand we’re keeping you.”
Bryce fought back a smile. He didn’t want them to think he found their reactions humorous, but it was adorable and made him warm inside. They were going to keep him. He wasn’t sure he deserved them. All he’d done was question what he and they wanted. He still wasn’t sure he’d made any progress, either.
Sandwiched between Oliver and Troy, Bryce walked up the stairs, thoughts swirling. When it came out, would it really matter to the insureds in his office? He believed Oliver and Troy when they said they wanted a long-term relationship with him, but could they really make it work? Would he be able to sort out the dominant and submissive parts of himself that didn’t always agree on who was in charge? He had more questions than answers, but he knew one thing.
He was where he needed to be.
“Strip down. You can leave your briefs on if you want, but everything else goes. Then climb up.” Troy stood in the doorway and watched Bryce and Oliver. His expression was still guarded, but Bryce saw a warmth in his eyes that made him feel steadier.
Taking off his clothes, Bryce let everything fall into a pile and got up on the bed. He didn’t bother keeping on anything. He didn’t want any barriers between them and he didn’t need to hide from them. Curling up into the pillows, he watched as Oliver joined him on the bed. They stuck out their feet and gave each other a grin.
As silly as it might have looked, Bryce liked the symbolism. He knew it was Troy’s way of making sure Bryce understood how serious they were about communication, but it made him feel like part of their family. The idea that they wanted him enough to tie him down shouldn’t have pleased him as much as it did. They might have been mad at him, but they still…wanted him…needed him…loved him.
Maybe.
Maybe he was overthinking it again.
When Oliver and Bryce were stretched out and patiently waiting, Troy calmly walked over to the bed and tied them down. The cuff would have been easy to remove, but Bryce liked how it felt. Secure.
Troy gave them both a long look. “Are you cold? Do either of you want a blanket?” He was calm and serious, but the heated glance he gave both men let Bryce know he wasn’t unaffected.
Oliver shook his head. “You’re like a big heater. I think we’ll be fine.”
Troy climbed up on the bed and, not even pausing, stretched out between the two men, pulling them close. He gave Bryce, then Oliver simple kisses on their heads and wrapped his arms around them. Bryce let his head fall to Troy’s shoulder, enjoying his warmth and strength.
It made the submissive side of him want to curl up and purr beside his Dom and it made the dominant part of himself sit a little straighter. “I’m sorry for…for everything that I put you through the past couple of days.”
Oliver peeked over Troy’s chest and reached out to take Bryce’s hand. “Are you ready to talk about it?”
“Yes.” Bryce relaxed into their touch. “I’ll admit there are a lot of things still floating around in my mind, but it’s not going to keep me away from you.”
“You should have talked to us about what was bothering you.” Troy tightened his hold on Bryce. “Next time I know something’s swirling in your head I’m not going to wait. You’re going to get tied to the bed right away.”
Bryce tried to smother his grin but it didn’t work. “And I won’t let it get that far without talking to you both.”
“It’s okay not to know everything. We just need to be able to talk about it.” Oliver rubbed his fingers over Bryce’s hand.
“That’s probably part of the problem. I like knowing what happens. Whether I’m submitting or dominating, there’s always an element of control. I might be giving that control to someone else, but it’s still mine. You two just send everything in my head flying.” Bryce wasn’t sure it made sense, but Troy and Oliver seemed to understand. They nodded, and Troy reached up to run one strong hand down Bryce’s head.
Not willing to hide, he decided to lay it all out for his men. “Do you want to know one thing I do know?”
Oliver’s eyes twinkled. “Is it dirty?”
“Kitten, that’s not helpful. Do we need to go over the rules again?” Troy gave him a long-suffering look, but the twitch at one corner of his mouth gave him away.
Bryce laughed. “No, but it’s just as good.”
“What?” Oliver’s head came up and he smiled.
Bryce shifted and gave them both short, tender kisses. “I know that I love you two very much.”
Oliver leaned over, wrapped his arms around Bryce, and gave him a silly, smacking kiss. “I knew that. We love you, too.”
Troy laughed. “You’re supposed to let me say that myself.”
Oliver shrugged. “You took too long.”
His men were funny, loving, and wonderfully his. “I think that means you need to punish him, Sir.”
Troy snorted. “Don’t look so eager. We’re not done talking.”
“We’re not?” Bryce felt a little like Oliver.
Giving him a look like he must be crazy, Troy shook his head. “No. I plan on keeping you right here for a very long time.”
Oliver smirked. “Told you so.”