I must have a look of horror on my face because Saint laughs and punches my shoulder. “Get over yourself, bro. Dating is fun.”
I grimace again, pointing my finger at Noah. “Where’s my brother, what have you done to him?”
He shrugs. “Made him happy. Look, the way I see it is, you can go back and apologise and offer to make it up to him by going out for dinner. Or you can take him to Bound and fuck him. There’s only one correct answer though.”
With that, Noah shimmies past me and sits down on Saint’s knee and leans into him. “I’ve got an hour to spare, Sir.”
Saint’s eyes darken, and he glances at me. “Fuck off, Royal. Go apologise to your boy.”
I’d already got the hint and was on my way out of the small office. “I’ll lock the door behind me.” I can hear the slap of a hand on bare skin, jealousy coursing through me as I drop the latch on the main door.
Still with no clue what to do, I go for my default and get back in my car and go to the gym. It’s busy when I walk in, the sound of rock music and metal clanging familiar and welcoming.The door to Knox’s office is closed, so he must be out here somewhere. As I gaze around the room, I find my brother by the Stairmaster, but instead of feeling good, my heart plummets. He’s talking to Memphis. This is so what I don’t need right now, but Knox sees me before I can make my escape. I watch Memphis go rigid, his back and shoulders stiffening as he’s informed of my arrival.
There’s nothing left to do but approach them.
When I reach them, Knox pats his arm and gives me a pointed look that says Fix This. “Can I use your office for a moment?” I ask, knowing he’ll say yes. He nods, handing me the keys. “Memphis, can we talk, please? I’d like to apologise.”
The look he gives me is hard, his lips tightened into a thin line. “You want me to mess up my work out for you? Haven’t you ruined my day enough?”
“Stop being such a brat and come with me.” I’ve had enough of his attitude today. I’m all for some sass, but I’m not going to put up with being spoken to this way. I stay just long enough to watch his cheeks colour a very pretty pink. Whether in embarrassment or arousal I’ll be sure to find out in a moment.
The machine comes to a stop, and Memphis steps down and follows me across the gym floor. I’m aware of more than a few pairs of eyes watching us, some from men I’ve fucked. Any scene we make out on the floor will be around Bound before either of us take a step back in the building.
After unlocking the door and opening it, I step aside for Memphis to walk in first, then follow, closing the door and leaning my back against it. He turns looking at me suspiciously.
“Well?” he asks, expectantly, his hands on his hips. “Apologise so I can get back to my workout.”
“Stop it,” I snap. His eyes go wide, his jaw slack. “I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you to wake up. I wanted to make you breakfast, to spoil you. You heard the shower, and instead ofwaiting or, hell, asking to join me, you bolted.” I hold up my hand. “I’m not gaslighting you or blaming you. I’m stating facts. In my eyes, we both fucked up. But I’m sorry.”
Memphis looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.
“Please think about what you are about to say. I don’t give second chances easily.” I push away from the door and step up into his space. “I want you, Memphis, but as much as I like playing games, and a bratty boy, I don’t like having to chase you. I don’t know if this is how your relationship with your last Daddy went. But it’s not how I want my boy to behave.”
He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t tell me to fuck off and walk back out. I want him. I still want to try this, so taking a chance, I cup his face and press a chaste kiss to his lips.
His apology is genuine, but if he thinks this morning was just me trying a cute game, he’s wrong. I can suck it up and apologise too. I can blame my reaction to the way things were before I left Simon. He would shut the door on me when he didn’t want me to be around him. It’s not true, not at all, because I hadn’t given Simon a thought. I was just pissed off at the unexpected empty bed. We’re supposed to be communicating, and I didn’t.
That’s what last night was for, and I believe every word he said. Jumping to conclusions wasn’t a ‘little’ thing to do. A proper reaction as his boy would be to wait until he came out and say good morning properly.
“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have left, and I shouldn’t have kicked you out of my bed. I think I’ve been having this relationship in my head for so long, I forgot what and where we really are in this.” I hook my thumb into his belt loop, not wanting him to step back. “Can we start today again?”
Royal stares at me for a long minute, then he smiles, and his whole face lights up, making him look even more handsome. “Yeah, I’d like that. Actually, I’d like to start from last night, let’s go and stuff our faces with food.”
“I need to shower and change, can you wait?” I’d been working out for at least an hour before Royal turned up, so there’s no way I can just get changed.
“Sure, I’ll annoy my brother while I wait.” His smile is more relaxed now, the conflict over with.
I pass Knox as I make my way to the locker room. “He’s waiting in the office.” I look back over my shoulder and see Royal is in the doorway watching us. I smile and his return one is huge, and any leftover tension I have vanishes, Poof! Up in the air, gone.
“You good now?” He’s always been the protector, the one to step up and call his brothers out when they fuck up.
“Yeah, we’re going to start the day again.” I chuckle. “It’s new to him. I just need to get him trained, and I’ll need to get Noah’s advice on how to teach a Foster to be a boyfriend.” I grin at the thought of me and Noah colluding to make awesome boyfriends out of Doms.
Knox laughs loudly and grips my shoulder. “Good luck with that, mate. We’re a stubborn bunch of arseholes.” He wanders towards his office now, probably to tell Royal what I’ve said. It doesn’t bother me. It isn’t anything I wouldn’t say to his face.
The showers are empty, and I make quick work of getting rid of the sticky sweat covering my body and wash my hair. I doubt I have time to dry it; I don’t want to keep him waiting too long.
All dried and dressed, I grab my bag and walk out of the room. Royal is leaning against the opposite wall, feet crossed at the ankles and arms across his chest. There’s heat in his eyes as he appraises me. I can feel the heat on my cheeks as my body reacts to his gaze. I feel my dick twitch and am thankful for it being hidden under heavy denim. “I’m ready,” I tell him.
