“Happiness looks good on you, man.” Ghost winks at me.
“Thanks.” I blow out a breath. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, but I don’t want to mess it up.”
“You won’t,” Colson says. “Because you want this, and that’s the biggest part. Trust me, Specter didn’t know what the fuck he was doing either—neither did I, for that matter—but we figured it out because we wanted to.”
Specter nuzzles his husband’s cheek. “Colson’s right. It was bumpy at first, but we got there and it was absolutely worth the journey.”
Their words resonate and I feel a little more solid. “Thanks, guys. That helps. He’s so damn precious. He deserves the world.”
“And you can give it to him,” Phantom says, clapping my shoulder. “Never thought I’d see this, but it’s badass. First Spec, then Wraith, and now you. Who’s next on the bachelor chopping block?”
“Not me.” Ghost licks butter off his fingers. “Too many people in the world to just choose one.”
“That sounds like famous last words to me.” Specter grins.
I notice the frown on Phantom’s face, and for a second, I wonder if there’s more than just friendship between them. They’re almost always together, but their bond has always read more brotherly than romantic to me. That doesn’t mean there’s not something simmering below the surface that none of us see though.
“I’ve learned never to think you have it all figured out,” Paxon says, approaching the island as he enters the kitchen, and obviously having heard part of the conversation. “I never would’ve thought I’d end up with Wraith after how things started for us, but now I can’t imagine my life without him in it.”
“That’s fair,” I say. “Falling for the hit man hired to kill your brother is a unique meet-cute.”
We all laugh.
“Thanks for the pep talk, boys, but I got a man upstairs to woo.”
I hurry back up, slipping quietly into the bedroom to find Rue still twisted in the bedding. A shaft of sunlight is shining through an opening in the drapes, landing softly on his sleeping form, highlighting his beauty. Fuck, I don’t know how he got under my armor, but it feels damn good.
I set the food and coffee on the nightstand, then kiss my way along his neck up to his cheek before softly pressing my lips to his.
A smile tugs his lips up. “Morning.”
“Morning.”
“It smells like—” He sniffs the air. “—banana bread.”
“It is banana bread.”
His eyes snap open. “Where?”
Chuckling, I gesture to the nightstand. “Colson made it since our bananas were overripe.”
“Oh my god.” He sits up and grabs the plate. “I love banana bread. It’s my favorite thing ever.” He holds the plate under his nose, inhaling the scent. “It smells divine.”
“Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.”
Rue picks up his piece and takes a bite, letting out a moan of pleasure that hits me right between the legs. His eyes are closed and he’s doing a little shimmy with his shoulders.
“He should sell this,” he mumbles with his mouth full.
I pick up my piece too, taking a bite and quickly understanding the euphoric look on Rue’s face. “Oh, it is good. Very moist.”
“The only time that word is good is with baked goods.”
“And meat.”
“No, meat is juicy.”
“Juicy huh? Like your sweet little ass?”