“I tried to take her for a walk,” Ezra answered, “but I just ended up chasing her in circles for a while. I think she was waiting for you to get home.”
“She still thinks she’s your dog,” Irving added. “It doesn’t matter how long she’s staying at our house—Bruiser is always going to believe you’re the main dad.”
I chuckled, rubbing under her chin to get my favorite goofy grin on her face. Of course Bruiser was Ezra’s dog and Irving’s dog as much as she was mine, but it was true that she and I had formed a special connection, right from the start. Anyway, it didn’t matter that much, considering how thin the line between their house and my apartment had been lately. Even after I took over the lease on the apartment from Irving, he ended up back at that place a few nights a week, burying himself away in his computer programming and appreciating some quiet. Just as often, I crashed over at the house, the three of us all ending up in the same bed and spending another long morning making breakfast and working on our projects.
Like I said earlier, it was all about routine for me. I had a place in my life for my work, a place for my fighting, and a place for my guys. And now, as we kept spending time together, it was close to the point where I’d have a real home in my life, too. A place I could rely on, just like I relied on Irving and Ezra.
“Should we get ready for the appointment?” Irving asked, squeezing himself out from under Bruiser’s weight. “I know it’s a little early, but maybe we could go for a drive around the neighborhood first? Get a better sense of the area?”
Ezra reached out, linking his arm with Irving and pulling him a little closer. “You’re so excited to see the house, babe!” he laughed. “I love that! But we do have two hours. Maybe there’s a little more time to kill?”
I glanced down at the drawings on the table and the laptop Irving had left open, numbers and code filling the screen. It made me proud to see the guys working so hard and to know they were as committed to building a future with me as I was to them. It was only when I looked up again and saw Ezra, though, that I realized what he actually meant by killing a little more time.
As Irving giggled and blushed, Ezra blew little puffs of air in his ear and traced a finger along his cheek.
I patted Bruiser’s rump, pushing her off the couch, then rose to my feet. Ezra’s eyes got big as he stared up to me, and Irving bit down on his bottom lip, already eager for what was coming next.
“You want to kill some time?” I asked, dropping my voice. They both nodded quickly, still glancing up. I hooked my thumbs in the belt loops of my denim, grinning to them. Immediately, I felt flush with desire and want, the energy that was still lingering after my workout coming back with full force. “Show me how much you want it.”
Irving stood up from the couch, then pulled Ezra to his feet, pausing along the way for a slow, gentle kiss. The guys had figured out how much it drove me wild to see them acting all gentle and careful with each other, and they knew that the more restraint they could show now, the less I would have later.
They were tricky like that. Sometimes, it almost seemed like they knew me better than I knew myself.
When they were done embracing for my benefit, my cock was pulsing hard in my jeans, and I was ready to unload everything I had on them in one quick session. When Ezra took Irving’s hand and started heading for the stairs, however, I grabbed his shoulder, stopping them in their tracks.
“Not there,” I said gruffly. “We haven’t finished breaking in the house yet.”
Irving gave Ezra a glance. “I’m pretty sure we’ve broken in every room more than once,” he said hesitantly.
I grinned. “Not that garage, though.”
Ezra shot me an impish grin back. “You’re not going to take it easy on us, are you?”
“Absolutely not,” I agreed, gesturing to the back door.
But come to think of it, things had never been easy on us. They’d just been right. And right was always worth fighting for, no matter how long that took me to understand. When something was right, you had to stick around for it, even if it meant throwing all of your other plans out the window.
That was one of the lessons I’d learned from Ezra and Irving. Over time, I knew there would be a lot more, too. But none of that was in my mind as I led my guys toward the garage, my brain firing with wicked fantasies. All I could think about then was giving them exactly what they wanted and feeling so damn lucky that, whenever they were begging, they were begging for me.
* * *
I pulled the truck up to the house on the outskirts of town, cruising into the dirt driveway while Ezra and Irving chattered excitedly beside me. It was a little blue building with a second floor and a wraparound porch that was already filled with potted flowers. A hammock swung between two old trees on the side, and the hills stretched up behind it, trees filling the horizon.
Everyone got quiet as we hopped out of the truck, stepping onto the property for the first time.
“This is it,” Ezra said, almost whispering the words. “I just know this is it.”
“Bruiser is going to love it,” Irving added as the two linked arms.
I chuckled. “There’s a lot to consider first. We’ve got to get a few people out to inspect the property, and there are still some details with the bank to finalize.” With the house in sight, however, all those concerns seemed to fall away. Somehow, I knew Ezra was right. This was going to be our house.
It was like the first time I saw them both, each of them arriving to the Steel Rose almost as though out of nowhere. It was hard to accept, but somehow, I knew they were special right from the start. A bullheaded guy like me might not have admitted it, but deep inside, you just knew when you met the right person.
Or when you first see the right house, I guess.
The realtor was coming in thirty, but she had left a key under the mat for us, in order to give our group a little time to explore on our own. The house was already emptied out by its last owner, but as we pushed through the front door and started to explore, I immediately began to fill the rooms in my imagination. Ezra and Irving went charging ahead, calling over their shoulders as they explored.
“This little office will be perfect for your drawing studio, Ezra!” Irving hollered from the back.
