"You'd tire of that after a day or two," I said. "You'd want to be out in the world, talking to new people. Being sociable. Getting some fresh air."
"I'd never get tired of spoiling my woman," he protested. "I might get a little stir-crazy in here though. No offense, Archer; this is a great place."
"None taken," Archer said. "Everyone likes to stretch their legs once in a while."
"Right," Boner agreed. "Besides, the outside world would be a sad place if I didn't put in an appearance here and there. What would the world do without me?"
"No idea," I said with a laugh. "It would be a boring place, that’s for sure."
"Without question," Boner agreed, immodestly. "How lucky you are to know me."
"If Jules was here, he'd laugh his ass off at that," Cass said.
"We can recreate this scene later," Boner said easily. "Wouldn't want Titmus the elder to miss out on all the fun, would we now?"
"I'm sure he'd appreciate that," Cass said teasingly.
"Of course he would." He's a good sport, deep down," Boner said. "Deep, deep down. Deeeep…"
"Jules is all right," I protested.
Jules was more than all right. He was grumpy and I doubted we'd ever stop trying to bait each other, but my feelings for him were strong. I knew he felt the same way. At some point we'd have to sit down and talk about it. That moment would come when we were both ready.
For now, it was fun to get a rise out of him and be razzed back. The verbal sparring was entertaining, if nothing else. Our love language, if you will. Cooking, snarking and killing seemed to be my love languages. Not to mention making milkshakes for Cass.
Boner took the tray once I'd finished eating and carried it to the door. "Let me put this away and we'll move on to phase two." He gave me a wink before he disappeared. Sounds of him moving around the kitchen followed.
"You really don't need to do this for me," I said to Archer and Cass, giving them each a long look.
"Yes, we do," Cass said easily. "We want to do these things for you. You make our lives better. Right, Archer?"
"Right," Archer agreed.
Cass sat down beside me and pushed his hair back off his face, holding it there for a moment before he let it go. It fell right back down. He didn't seem to notice.
"I'm glad I met you," he said softly. "I don't know where I'd be right now if I hadn't."
"In your old apartment, making tacos?" I suggested.
He'd be a lot safer than he was now. He wouldn't have seen anyone killed. Wouldn't have cut off any fingers, or poked anyone in the ribs with a knife. Chances were he wouldn't have witnessed Yvette being hit by a car either. He'd seen more death than the average person. Not including doctors, nurses, coroners and Francisco, who drove the hearse for the funeral home a couple of blocks over like he was on an F1 track.
And yet, Cass was still here, with me. With us. His relationship with me and Boner growing, along with his friendship with Archer. He seemed to be closer to his brother now too.
Maybe a little murder wasn't such a bad thing here and there. In the right context.
"Before you, something was missing," he said.
He brushed hair off the side of my face. It didn't fall back down. Apparently my hair was better behaved than his. "Until I met you, I didn't know what it was. But now, I can't imagine ever going back. I don't want to live my life without you." He swiped his lips over mine.
"I don't want to live my life without you either," I said, leaning in to deepen the kiss. "Any of you." I loved all four of these men.
So why couldn't I tell them about Zeus?
As I kissed Cass, I wanted to pull away and tell them everything. My instincts screamed at me not to. The only times I ever ignored my instincts, I'd regretted it.
If I did something I'd regret in this situation, we could end up dead. No, I had to listen to my gut. I had to wait. Wait for what? I didn't know. But I'd wait.
He slipped his hand under the tank top I wore to bed, sliding over the bare skin of my back. "Might as well get you ready for the bath," he said, tugging the fabric up and over my head.
