The little paw injury he’d suffered was ancient history; those few days of sleep had energized him for the month. He rarely sat still. Like now, as he bounded over and sat in front of Trey, staring up with those big brown eyes and the goofy grin on his face.
“You wanna go out?”
The dog was so expressive Trey couldn’t help but find him adorable.
“All right. Come on.”
They went outside into the gated side yard, and Trey let them wander around until they did their business. Once they were finished, he got them back in the house and dished up their food. Since Sarge and Aurora were on a fresh food diet—something Magnus swore by—they were slowly shifting Arbuckle over, too. He didn’t seem to care what he ate—he scarfed it down regardless.
Trey had spent the better part of the past two weeks with Magnus and Ava, dealing with the legalities of buying land.
It wasn’t as simple as it sounded, but the three of them put their heads together, as well as their money, and they’d come up with a plan. It would take about a year to do all they wanted to do—build a house, relocate the business, etc.—and it would require a few concessions, including Trey selling his house and Ava selling hers, but it worked on paper, giving them a mortgage payment they could afford. They would take the money from the sale of the houses and put it into their future, building a dream for the three of them. A place big enough to raise kids, a business they could all be a part of, and enough money set aside to do the things they wanted to do.
While it was a huge step, it felt right to him. More so since he’d introduced Magnus and Ava to his family—the immediate ones, anyway—and as he’d predicted, they’d fallen in love with them both as fast as Trey had. His mother was thrilled their family tree was growing.
The only reason Trey hadn’t yet revealed the news of the house and the move to anyone, including his family, was the fact everyone was so focused on Brantley and Reese’s upcoming wedding. He didn’t want to rain on his brother’s parade, so he convinced Ava and Magnus to keep it to themselves until that was out of the way. It was just a good thing that the wedding was tomorrow. Otherwise, Trey was pretty sure Ava would explode.
In the meantime, it was business as usual. Trey was working at the camp alongside Magnus, Ava, Gia, Billy, and the recently promoted Brock McGee—the twenty-two-year-old kid who worshipped Magnus like he was the sun, moon, and all the stars—like he had never left. Only now, Trey wasn’t pretending it was a temporary gig. He was inserting himself in everything, learning the ropes with the intention of being able to carry his weight like everyone else.
“Now it’s time for y’all to go to camp,” Trey told the dogs when they were lounging around, their bellies full. “You get to hang with Billy today.”
Sarge’s ears perked up at the man’s name. Sarge wasn’t loyal to any one human, he happened to like most of them. Which worked out well because Magnus used Sarge and Aurora to help train other dogs, including the puppy classes and whatnot.
It didn’t take long for Trey to get them over to the camp and into capable hands. He promised Billy that he’d be back shortly, once he dragged Ava and Magnus out of bed.
“And don’t forget, the three of us will be outta pocket tomorrow. My brother’s gettin’ married.”
“If I don’t remember later, tell those boys congrats for me,” Billy said. “And to live long and prosper.”
“I’ll be sure to tell ’em, Captain Spock,” he assured the older man before heading back to the house.
***
Magnus spent the entire day walking aroundin a fog. The encounter that morning had left him with his head in the cloud, a smile firmly planted on his face. Waking up to Ava was always an adventure. This morning, he’d let her have her wicked way with him, something she was getting really,reallygood at.
Of course, the encounter was magnified tenfold when Trey returned and joined them. At that point, Magnus had been at their mercy, fucked by them both at the same time. For the record,between themwas his new favorite position.
Some might think that it was simply the sex that put him in a good mood, but that hadn’t beensex. That word didn’t even begin to describe the intensity of their joining. Hell, for a minute there, he’d thought he had died and gone to heaven. What they’d shared … that was a sinful cornucopia of pleasure.
And yes, he knew he was waxing poetic about it, but damn if he could help himself. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he was this happy.
That’s the thought he carried with him throughout the day and still as he made his way to the house after they’d closed things down for the evening. Brock was taking the overnight shift and would be helping Gia and Billy tomorrow so Ava and Magnus could accompany Trey to his brother’s wedding. He’d received an invitation of his own, but Trey had insisted on updating his original response to let his mom and JJ know that he would be bringing a plus-two. Magnus knew it was a gesture on Trey’s part, and he appreciated it more than the man would ever know.
“What smells so good?” Magnus asked when he stepped into the house.
He found Trey standing at the stove, his back muscles shifting beneath his T-shirt as he worked.
“Chicken fried steak.”
Magnus squeezed in to wash his hands at the kitchen sink. “You’re tellin’ me you can make chicken fried steak?”
“Not tellin’,” Trey countered. “Did. Get Ava, and y’all take a seat. It’ll be ready in a second.”
“I’m here,” Ava announced as she strolled into the room with a beaming grin on her face.
Magnus dried his hands on a towel, pressing a kiss to her lips when she offered. He tossed the hand towel aside and followed Ava to the table, wanting to get out of Trey’s way. The kitchen was barely big enough for one person, let alone three. That wouldn’t be the case in their new house. Now that he knew Trey could cook, he intended to give them a gourmet kitchen so they could do so together. Well, so Ava and Trey could cook while Magnus sat back and admired them.
“What’s this?” Ava asked. “Oh, my God. Did you…?”
