Their bickering was interrupted by Bree’s appearance. She floated in wearing a summer dress that made her look like she’d stepped out of a lifestyle magazine, her bag perfectly coordinated with her shoes.
“Good morning, everyone!” Her cheerfulness should have been illegal this early.
“Sleep well?” Jaxson asked politely, trying not to think about who was still sleeping in his bed.
“The best!” Her eyes sparkled with barely contained mischief. “I hope you and Lan had an equally… restful night?”
Wei turned from the stove so fast he nearly launched an egg across the kitchen, his knowing smirk making Bree’s cheeks pink. Colt’s precise movements became almost militant, while Xander’s easy smile took on a sharp edge.
“Breakfast?” Jaxson offered desperately, wondering if it was possible to die from pointed looks.
“Oh no, meeting friends,” she declined, adjusting her bag with studied casualness. “Tell Lan I’ll text him later!” With a wave and a smile that held too many secrets, she was gone.
“More eggs for us,” Nico mumbled, face once again acquainting itself with the table’s surface.
The kitchen settled into a rhythm of clinking plates and domestic sounds as Wei worked his magic. A feast materialized: perfectly scrambled eggs, golden toast, crispy bacon, and sliced fruit arranged with surprising artistry.
“Food!” Nico perked up, his gaming-induced exhaustion temporarily forgotten in the face of breakfast.
They had just started eating—Colt arranging his plate, Xander demolishing his toast with surprising intensity, and Jaxson trying not to look at the empty chair beside him—when a soft shuffle from the doorway made them all freeze.
Lan stood there like something from a dream, drowning in Jaxson’s old t-shirt. The worn cotton hung off one pale shoulder like a sonnet to temptation, the hem hitting mid-thigh and creating an illusion of endless legs. His ink-black hair was artfully tousled from sleep, and his eyes were still heavy-lidded as he rubbed them with one delicate fist.
That sweet scent—honey, cherry blossoms, and lilies—drifted across the room, wrapping around the three older brothers like an invisible embrace, triggering an immediate physiological response. Jaxson’s pupils dilated, his heart rate accelerating, his body temperature rising as that primal part of him—the beast—growled in satisfaction.Mine, it insisted.Mine to protect. Mine to possess.
Xander’s fork clattered against his plate hard enough to make Colt wince. Colt himself went absolutely still, his precise movements stuttering to a halt mid-bite. Jaxson forgot how breathing worked, the beast in him preening at the visible evidence of his claim on Lan.
“Wei’s cooking wake you up?” Nico asked through a mouthful of eggs, completely missing how three pairs of eyes tracked Lan’s every movement like predators watching their prey.
Lan padded to the table, the oversized shirt slipping further down his shoulder with each step. He slid into the chair beside Nico, still looking beautifully dazed.
“Your lips look rather… well used this morning,” Wei observed with innocent malice, though his eyes danced with wicked knowledge. “Rough night, Little Fairy?”
The blush that bloomed across Lan’s cheeks was devastating. He touched his lips self-consciously—lips that were visibly swollen and pink, telling tales about midnight activities that made three sets of knuckles go white around their utensils.
Xander’s eyes darkened dangerously as they fixed on those kiss-bruised lips, his inside coiling with jealousy. Colt’s jaw clenched so hard it looked painful, his perfect table arrangement forgotten as the beast inside snarled in protest. And Jaxson… Jaxson remembered exactly how those lips had felt against his own just hours ago, how they’d parted on desperate little gasps as he’d taught Lan exactly how kissing should feel.
Satisfaction coursed through him, hot and sweet. The beast within him unfurled with pride.Let them look. Let them wonder. Let them know that he’s mine now.
“Must’ve bitten them in my sleep,” Lan mumbled, not meeting anyone’s eyes.
“Must have,” Wei agreed, his knowing smirk visible even as he turned back to the stove. “Eggs, Shrine Maiden? Or did you work up an appetite for something… else?”
The nickname made Lan blush harder, and the collective intake of breath from three of his stepbrothers could have sucked all the oxygen from the room. Wei’s casual use of the term—one that touched on something ancient and powerful—resonated with them all on a level deeper than conscious awareness.
“Yes, please,” Lan whispered, and even his voice sounded slightly rough, slightly used, sending a wave of possessive satisfaction through Jaxson.
As Wei handed Lan a plate loaded with breakfast, the morning light caught in the boy’s dark hair, highlightingstrands that shone almost blue-black in the sun. His delicate features—so clearly showcasing his mixed heritage, with those high cheekbones and large, expressive eyes—were even more breathtaking in the golden morning glow.
Jaxson watched as Lan took his first bite of food, those kiss-swollen lips closing around the fork in a way that made his throat go dry. The memory of those same lips wrapped around his tongue last night sent a surge of heat through him. He caught Colt’s eyes narrowing at his reaction, caught the slight tensing of Xander’s shoulders.
Seventeen
LAN
Iwoke up feeling like my brain had been replaced with cotton candy—sweet memories and fuzzy thoughts all swirled together in a sugar-coated haze of post-makeout bliss. For one disorienting moment, I couldn’t place where I was. Then the scent hit me—that distinctive mix of expensive cologne, fabric softener, and something uniquelyhimthat no department store would ever be able to bottle. Jaxson’s room. Jaxson’s bed. Jaxson’s sheets twisted around my legs like evidence of sins I wasn’t sure I regretted.
But no Jaxson.