that way about me. That he could feel the same way that I did.
"Lex," I began to say, but then Brewer began barking. I heard the sound of a car coming down the driveway.
"King's here," Lex said softly as he stood up. "I guess I should get my things."
He tried to tug his hand free, but I refused to release it. Instead, I stood up and pulled him behind me when I went to the door to open it.
"Brewer, go keep our guest company for a while," I said. The husky darted through the door. I slammed it shut behind him and flipped the lock. Brewer began barking all over again when he realized who the visitor was and I found myself smiling.
"Gideon?" Lex said in confusion.
I used my finger to move the curtain over the glass in the door just a bit and saw King sitting in his car. He had the window rolled down and it looked like he was talking to my dog. Maybe trying to make amends, I wasn't sure. But Brewer wasn't having any of it.
"Good dog," I said quietly and then I turned to Lex. I pulled him forward and covered his mouth with mine. He squeaked in surprise, but that lasted about two seconds. Then he was kissing me back.
When I broke the kiss I said, "I love you, Lex. I love every version of you that I've met from the moment I laid eyes on you in that cabin. That will never change." I kissed him hard. "I need to know that no matter what, you'll never doubt that. You’ll never doubt how much I love you and why I love you."
Lex choked back a sob and nodded. "No doubt," he confirmed. "I love you so much, Gideon."
I kissed him again and then took his hand and began leading him in the direction of my bedroom.
"Wait, what about King?" Lex asked.
"Brewer will keep him company,” I said simply. “Now if I recall, you were saying something about only taking orders from me in bed. I think I'm going to need a little bit of convincing of that."
The sound of Lex's laughter as he followed me without argument was the best sound I'd heard in a long time. And I hoped to hear it for a long time to come.
A very long time.
As in, forever.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lex
"Son of a bitch," Gideon growled as he came to an abrupt stop in front of me. So abrupt, I slammed into his back.
"What?" I asked.
"Well, Callahan, at least you guys are wearing your skivvies this time."
The sound of my brother's voice sent a volley of emotions through me. Of course, I was glad to have King there, but not particularly there in Gideon's kitchen, especially after Gideon and I had spent the last two hours having what I could only classify as very exuberant sex.
But as happy as I’d always be to see him, I was also worried about what his presence would mean for Gideon, since he wasn't exactly Gideon's favorite person at the moment. While we’d been making love, I’d been able to feel the cuts and abrasions on Gideon's face, as well as the swelling from what I could only assume was some pretty significant bruising. Gideon had brushed off my concerns, but I knew King. I'd seen proof of the damage he could do when he was protecting someone he cared about.
"I locked that door," Gideon muttered. He kept me tucked behind him, though I wasn't really sure why. As embarrassing as it was, it wasn't like my brother hadn't seen me in less than my underwear already.
"Yeah, it took me almost twenty seconds to pick it," King said. "This one here, he was a harder nut to crack," I heard my brother add.
I was about to ask what he was talking about when Gideon said, "Really, Brewer?"
Brewer whined and thumped his tail. Before I could even voice the question, Gideon said to me, "Brewer's got his head in your brother’s lap. What did you do, King? Soak your pants in a bucket of meat?"
"What can I say, the guys just like me. And speaking of my meat, Lex’s driver seemed happy enough with it."
"Jesus, King," I groaned as I stepped out from behind Gideon's back. "Andre? Really?"
I didn't need to see King shrug to know that was exactly what he was doing. My older brother had been working his way through more than his fair share of men pretty much from the