C

HRIS TIAN

By Andria Large

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s

imagination or are used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual

events, locales, organizations, businesses, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Andria Large. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be

reproduced, scanned, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written

permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2013

ASIN:

Kindle Direct Publishing

kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing

Acknowledgements

First, I want to say thank you to my husband and my girls, who have been nothing but supportive of

me. Second, I want to give a shout out to my friend, Jessica Carroll, who started me on this crazy

journey; without her and her blog, no one would have ever heard about the Beck Brothers. And last

but not least, to my editor, Megan Hershenson, who worked tirelessly to make my work sound better

and more professional. And of course, thanks to all of my fans, I love you all!!!

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Epilogue

~Prologue~

Christian was hammered. He had a great time dancing and laughing with his family, but he hadn’t

seen Shea in about an hour, so he went looking for him. Christian found him at the bar, talking to
Jared Walsh, Sebastian’s new brother-in-law. He went over and slung his arm around Shea’s
shoulders.

“Hey, guys.” Christian greeted them.
“Hey, Chris,” Jared smiled.
“Hey, buddy,” Shea said, turning his glazed brown eyes toward Christian.
“Listen, I gotta piss. I’ll see you guys later,” Jared said and left them to find the bathroom.
Christian took a deep breath, he had something he wanted to tell Shea, and it was now or never.

“Shea, can we go somewhere quiet to talk?”

“Yeah, sure, man.”
Shea pushed away from the bar and Christian dropped his arm. They headed out into the lobby

and out the front doors. Christian led them over to the little grassy area where the gazebo was. It was
dark and quiet in the gazebo; no one else was outside - perfect for what he needed to tell Shea. He
stepped into the gazebo then turned and waited for Shea, who ended up tripping as he stepped into
the gazebo. Christian caught him, but since they were both drunk, they stumbled until his back
bumped against one of the poles, and Shea was pressed against his front. Christian’s eyes slid
closed. Jesus, he couldn’t remember what they even came out here for. He has been dreaming about
Shea being in his arms like this for too long.

“You know, I have always wondered what it would be like to kiss you,” Shea murmured huskily

into the dark, his mouth mere inches from Christian’s.

Christian’s eyes flew open. He was about to ask Shea what the hell he was talking about, but

instead Shea kissed him. Christian sucked in a sharp breath through his nose, his eyes fluttering shut.
Holy shitballs! Shea was kissing him! Christian fisted his hands in the back of Shea’s shirt and
kissed him back, all of his pent up desires bursting forth. Their tongues met and Christian thought he
was going to come in his pants. He moaned into Shea’s mouth, and he responded with his own moan,
as he pressed Christian more firmly against the pole.

The kiss was urgent and messy. Shea’s goatee scraped Christian’s skin and he loved every

minute of it, never wanting it to end; but of course, it had to. Shea pulled back only enough to press
their foreheads together as they both sucked in much needed air. Christian could feel Shea trembling
against him. Yeah, he was just as affected as Christian was.

“Damn.” Shea breathed.
“What was that about?” Christian asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” he said, swallowing hard.
“Was it just the alcohol?” Christian asked.
“I...I don’t know,” Shea murmured.
Christian sighed heavily, his heart shattering into pieces. He gently pushed Shea back. “Well,

when you figure it out, I’ll be here,” he said and started to leave the gazebo.

Shea grabbed his arm. “Hold up! What did you want to talk about?”
Christian hung his head for a moment before he glanced back at Shea. “I was going to tell you

that I’m in love with you.”

Shea flinched as if Christian just slapped him across the face. “But...but...”
“Yeah, I know, you’re straight. You don’t have to remind me,” Christian muttered and pulled his

arm out of Shea’s grasp. “I’m going back inside.”

Christian left Shea standing stunned in the gazebo. He didn’t know what he expected when he

first went out there, but that was not it. He now had a taste of Shea, and nothing was ever going to be
the same between them. He didn’t think he could go on just being friends with him anymore, it was
too painful. Christian’s stomach protested and he ran for the bathroom. He locked himself in a stall
and puked his ever-loving guts up. Thank god, no one else was around.

Christian pretty much avoided Shea for the remainder of the night. However, when the limo

stopped to drop Christian off at home, Shea got out, too. Shea followed him into his house before
shutting the door and locking it behind him.

“Chris, we have to talk about this,” Shea murmured as he followed Christian up the stairs.
“Talk about what? I’m gay, you’re not. I’m in love with you, but the feelings aren’t mutual. There

is really nothing else to talk about,” Christian muttered, dragging a hand through his hair as he
walked into his room.

“What about our friendship?” Shea demanded.
Christian sighed and dropped down to sit on the end of his bed. “I don’t know what to do about

that, Shea. All I know is that I can’t go on like this anymore, it hurts too much.”

Christian glanced up at Shea where he was standing just inside the door, the look of pure agony

on his face. “You...I...we can’t just throw away decades of friendship over a kiss,” he whispered.

“Shea, this isn’t about the kiss. This is about me looking at you every day, knowing that we will

never be anything more than friends. I don’t know how I fell in love with you, but I did, and it hurts
so fucking badly to look at you and know that you will never feel the same way about me,” Christian
said hoarsely. He was practically sober again, throwing up definitely had a part in that.

“So you’re saying that the only way to keep you in my life is to be in a relationship with you?”

Shea asked, taking a step forward.

Christian frowned as he thought about it. “I guess, I don’t see any other way,” he answered,

shaking his head.

Shea got scary quiet, deep in thought. He took a deep breath and said the one thing that Christian

NEVER expected to hear. “Then let’s do it. If that is the only way that you want me in your life, then
I’m going to take it. You are the only family I have, and I can’t lose you, Christian. So, if you want
me to be your boyfriend, then that’s what I’m going to be,” he said firmly.

Christian sputtered and blinked rapidly. What the fuck was going on here? “Excuse me?”
“I’m game, Chris. If it’s a relationship that you want, then it’s a relationship you’re gonna get,”

Shea said seriously.

Christian eyed him warily. “Sex?”
“Sex included,” Shea agreed.
“But...I don’t understand. Why would you do this? You’re not attracted to me like that.”

Christian scoffed. “You can’t just wake up one day and decide to be gay.”

“Did I not tell you once that you were the only guy I have ever found attractive?” Shea reminded

him.

“I thought you were fucking with me!”
“Well, I wasn’t.” Shea shrugged.

“Listen, Shea, if you are serious about this, there will be no more women for you. I don’t share,”

Christian said.

“I don’t want any women if it means not having you. I do love you, you know.”
“But you’re not in love with me,” Christian said with a pointed look.
“I don’t think it would be hard to fall in love with you, Christian,” Shea murmured softly, taking

another step forward, which put him right in front of him.

Christian looked up at the man he was so in love with, offering him everything he has always

wanted. Did he take the chance and agree to this? It could end horribly with not just Christian’s heart
broken, but Shea’s, too. Could Shea actually be in a sexual relationship with another guy? Christian
didn’t know, and he wouldn’t unless he put himself out there and gave this thing a try. The first real
burst of excitement hit him square in the gut; this might be his one and only chance to be with Shea,
so he was going to take it.

“Are you sure? You’re not just doin’ this out of guilt or pity? Or because you are afraid of losing

our friendship?” Christian asked.

“More like terrified,” Shea murmured softly. “But I am absolutely positive that this is what I

want.” Shea finished firmly and nodded.

Christian eyed him warily but nodded in return. “Okay, but I’m warning you, there is no going

back after this.”

“I know.”
Christian held out his hand, and Shea instantly threaded their fingers together. Christian’s heart

fluttered. “God, Shea, are you really sure? You have to be...”

“Chris, just stop! If I wasn’t sure I never would have offered, so stop doubting me,” Shea said,

squeezing Christian’s fingers.

“I’m just afraid you are going to change your mind tomorrow.” Christian sighed.
Shea shook his head. “I will not change my mind, I swear.”
“But you’re not gay.”
“I will be for you. I would do anything for you, you should know that by now, Chris,” Shea said

with a small smile. “I will not lose my best friend because I’m not gay, fuck that, consider me gay
from now on.”

Christian couldn’t help but chuckle. He hoped this wasn’t a huge mistake. Can you really just

decide to be gay? Just like that?

Shea sat down next to Christian and looked down at their intertwined hands. “I’m not going to lie

and say that being with a dude doesn’t freak me out a little bit, but I liked our kiss earlier. I think if
we just take it a step at a time, I’ll be fine. I have been curious about what you are like in bed.”

Christian took a deep breath and blew it out. “Okay,” he agreed.
“How’s your anxiety? Is your heart okay? Did it give out? You gonna puke?”
Christian laughed and nudged Shea with his shoulder. “You’re a dick.”
Shea suddenly yawned but nodded in agreement. “I know...damn, I’m beat, are we done talking?

Cause I’d really like to go to sleep now.”

“Yeah, yeah, we can go to sleep.” Christian smirked.
Shea turned and crawled up the bed on his hands and knees. Christian smacked his ass, causing

him to yelp in surprise. Shea glared over his shoulder at him before plopping down on his stomach
and snuggling up with a pillow.

“Dude, you still have your shoes on.” Christian snickered.
“Don’t care, too tired,” Shea mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.
Christian huffed as he grabbed Shea’s shoes and pulled them off, taking off his socks, too,

because he knew that Shea hated sleeping with socks on. Christian then got himself undressed. In
some ways, this relationship with Shea was going to be a piece of cake because they already knew
each other inside out; however, in other ways, it was going to be a struggle. But Christian knew that
they could do it, as long as they were both committed to making it work.

“So what should I call you now? Sweetie, pumpkin or kitten? Oh, oh, I know! How about

cocksucker?” Shea teased, lifting his head to grin evilly over his shoulder at Christian.

“I might be gay, but I can totally kick your ass,” Christian warned.
“I would say that you’re more likely to fuck my ass than kick it.” Shea snorted, dropping his head

back to his pillow.

Christian threw his head back and laughed. He finished getting undressed, leaving only his black

boxer/briefs on. He climbed onto the bed next to Shea and collapsed; Christian rolled onto his side
facing Shea and stroked a hand over his short hair. Shea hummed softly and snuggled his face closer
to his.

“What are you going to tell that girl you’re seeing?” Christian asked.
“The truth,” Shea muttered sleepily.
“You’re going to tell her that you’ve suddenly decided to start a relationship with your gay best

friend?”

Shea shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Christian seriously doubted that Shea was going to tell the girl the truth, but he wasn’t going to

argue with him now. Christian put his arm around his waist and pulled him closer. Shea shifted and
rolled so that his back pressed against Christian’s front. Christian hummed his approval and
wrapped his arm around Shea. Christian tucked his face into the back of his neck and sighed heavily.
This felt so right. God, he hoped this relationship worked.

~Chapter 1~

Shea groaned and rolled over. Holy schnikes! His head was absolutely pounding; he drank way

too much last night at Sebastian’s wedding, but hell, that was a must at all Beck parties. He stretched
and looked down at himself, and he was still fully clothed. Shea rolled his eyes at himself before
throwing his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up. He scrubbed his face and the sleep from his
eyes before looking around. He was in Christian’s bedroom. Last night came slamming back to the
forefront of his mind, the kiss between Christian and him, their conversation, everything…

Holy Mother of God! Christian is his boyfriend!
Shea whipped his throbbing head around to look at the other side of the bed where Christian was

sprawled out on his stomach with his head under a pillow, wearing only his underwear. His heart
fluttered. Christian, his best friend, was now his boyfriend. Wow…just wow.

Christian grumbled something incoherent and pulled his head out from under the pillow. His hair

was a hot mess as he pushed up onto his elbows and rubbed his face. He dragged his eyes open to
catch Shea watching him. Christian sighed heavily and hung his head.

“You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you?” he said dejectedly.
“What? No, definitely not,” Shea assured him.
“Then why do you look like you want to run screaming?”
“It just kind of hit me, that’s all. I’m not going to run.”
Christian nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. Shea stood and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Christian asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
“Relax spaz, I gotta take a piss.” Shea chuckled.
“Oh,” replied Christian, who was now blushing.
Shea smiled and shook his head as he walked down the hall to the bathroom. Poor Christian, the

guy needed to be medicated, but Christian always refused, saying he didn’t want to be on medication
every day. After going to the bathroom and brushing his horrendous dragon breath with an extra
toothbrush, Shea headed back to Christian’s room, where he was now sitting on the bed, head
hanging, shoulders slumped. Shea pounced on Christian, making them both fall back with Shea on
top. He cupped Christian’s face and kissed him on the lips.

“Oh God, maybe I should have waited until you brushed your teeth.” Shea grimaced.
“Nice,” Christian said dryly.
Shea chuckled and gave Christian another small kiss on the mouth. “I’m going to go get some

aspirin and coffee.”

Christian nodded. “Alright.”

One more kiss before Shea got up and headed downstairs. The first thing he did was take some

aspirin and then he set up the coffee pot. He had just poured coffee into two mugs when Christian
walked into the kitchen. To Shea’s surprise, Christian was actually in a pair of plaid pajama pants
and no shirt. That was definitely the most dressed down that Christian ever got, and damn he looked
fine without a shirt.

“Listen, Shea, if you want out just tell me now…” Christian started but Shea cut him off.
“For Christ’s sake, Chris, I don’t want out. Will you please stop second guessing me?” said

Shea, letting out an irritated sigh as he fixed their coffees with cream and sugar.

“I’m sorry, I’m just finding this difficult to wrap my mind around,” Christian muttered and sank

down into his normal chair at the head of the table.

“Stop thinking so much about it. We’re pretty much just adding more affection and sex to our

friendship. You’re making this a bigger deal than it is,” Shea said and set Christian’s coffee down in
front of him.

Christian gave him an incredulous look. “This is a big deal! You’re not gay!”
“What the fuck did I tell you last night? I am now, so shut the hell up and just accept it.”
“Jesus Christ, Shea, you can’t just turn gay overnight!” Christian argued.
“Watch me!” Shea countered.
He was serious about this. He was not going to lose his best friend and only family he had

because he wasn’t gay. Christian was in love with him, and he would be damned if he were going to
let him walk away without at least trying to give Christian what he deserved. Christian wanted to be

with him, and he would do that for him and only for him. If any other man came to Shea and told him
that they were in love with him, he probably would have run away screaming, but this was Christian.

Shea would be lying if there hadn’t been moments in their friendship when he wondered what it

would be like to be more than friends with Christian, especially after Christian came out to him. So
he really wasn’t doing something that he hadn’t already thought about a time or two before.

“Fine, whatever,” Christian scoffed before sipping his coffee.
Shea walked over to the table and set his mug down before moving to stand behind Christian. He

placed his hands on Christian’s shoulders and started to knead them. The tension in them was
incredible. He had no idea how Christian dealt with his shoulders being this tight all of the time.

“Dude, you need to relax,” Shea murmured.

“You don’t understand, Shea. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this with you, and then out

of nowhere, all of my dreams are coming true. I’m just having a hard time thinking this is real.”

Shea yanked Christian’s chair out from the table to give himself room to straddle Christian’s lap.

Christian stared up at him with wide eyes as Shea threw his leg over and sat down on his lap, facing
him. Christian swallowed hard as Shea leaned in close and whispered, “How’s this for real?” before
kissing Christian passionately.

Christian sucked in a sharp breath through his nose and clutched fistfuls of the front of Shea’s

shirt. Shea found that there wasn’t much difference between kissing a guy or a girl; a girl’s lips might
be a bit softer, and they usually weren’t as aggressive or had stubble on their faces, but other than
that, it was the same. However, Shea couldn’t say that it was the same because of the feelings he was
experiencing. When he kissed Tara, the girl he had been seeing, he felt nothing compared kissing
Christian. It was crazy the way his mind fogged and his heart fluttered. No woman has ever done that
to him.

Shea shoved his hands into Christian’s silky hair and tilted his head so that he could kiss him

deeper. Christian moaned, his hands snaking around to Shea’s ass, where he grabbed it and pulled
Shea closer. Shea could feel Christian’s erection against his own. Whoa! He hadn’t even realized that
he was hard! He was just so into the kiss, he hadn’t noticed. Shea tore his mouth away from
Christian’s. They sat there panting, their eyes locked on each other.

“Wow, that was hot,” Shea rasped.
“I’d have to agree.” Christian breathed.
“Was that real enough for you?” asked Shea, eyebrow cocked in question.
“Yes.”
“Good, I’m your boyfriend now, Chris, don’t forget it,” said Shea, giving Christian a pointed

look.

Christian smiled softly. “Alright.”

Christian kept his eyes on Shea as he got up off his lap. He didn’t want Shea to go, but he didn’t

want to scare him away either by trying to do more than kiss. Christian wasn’t exactly convinced that
Shea was going to be able to do more than that. He had said last night that being with another guy
kind of freaked him out, so Christian wasn’t going to get his hopes up about this relationship. He had

a feeling he was in for a world of heartache.

Shea sat down in the chair to Christian’s left and took a sip of his coffee. He started talking, but

Christian wasn’t fully listening. He was watching Shea’s full lips and imagining them wrapped
around... Good Lord, it has been way too long since he’s had sex. He was dying to get Shea in bed;
he has been fantasizing about it for over two years now. The things he wanted to do to this man... shit,
sometimes Christian scared himself just thinking about it.

Shea snapped his fingers in front of Christian’s face, making him start. “Chris, did you even hear

a word I said?” Shea asked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“Huh? Sorry, no, I wasn’t listening,” Christian muttered with a sheepish grin.
“Yeah, I know. You’ve been staring hungrily at my mouth the entire time.” Shea chuckled.
Christian blushed. “I was not,” he mumbled and sipped his coffee.
Shea laughed. “Come on, Chris, you can’t lie to me. You looked like you were starving and you

wanted to devour my lips.”

Christian closed his eyes and fought back the swirl of desire in his gut. He wanted to do that and

more, and if Shea didn’t shut the hell up, he was going to attack him right here on the kitchen table.

“When’s the last time you had sex?” Shea asked quietly.
Christian’s eyes flew open and stared at Shea. “I don’t know, why?” he said quickly.
“I think you’ve been deprived.” Shea smirked mischievously.
Christian couldn’t deny it, he was deprived, and it was his own fault. Ever since realizing that he

was in love with Shea, sex with anyone else just wasn’t appealing. Now that Shea was his boyfriend,
he didn’t want to wait any longer - he wanted sex, and he wanted it right now. But he would hold
back because Shea needed to go slow. He needed time to adjust, and there was no guarantee that he
would enjoy it.

Christian had been with a couple of girls when he was younger, just to make sure he was truly

gay, which he was. He had been able to get off, but it was nowhere near as satisfying as when he was
with a guy. Not that women weren’t beautiful or whatever, but he was attracted to men. That’s who
really turned him on, who really got his blood pumping. And Shea...well, Shea set his blood on fire.

Shea stood, finished off his coffee then grabbed Christian’s hand and gave it a tug. Christian

looked up at him. “What?” he asked cautiously.

“Come on, let’s give you some relief,” Shea murmured, his dark eyes serious.
“Wha...I...are you sure?” Christian stuttered.
Shea gave him a bored look and tugged his hand a little harder. Christian got up from the table

and let Shea lead him into the living room. Shea shoved him down onto the couch then crawled on top
of him. He planted a hand next to Christian’s head while the other skimmed up Christian’s bare side
and over his chest to cup the side of his face. Shea then leaned down and kissed him languidly.
Christian let his hands wander as this was the first time he was getting to explore Shea’s body in a
sexual way.

The first thing Christian did was unbutton Shea’s dress shirt that he still had on from last night.

They worked together to get it off, then Shea pulled off the white wife beater he had on underneath,
only breaking their kiss to pull it over his head. Christian moaned as he let his hands glide over
Shea’s flat stomach. Oh God, he loved the feel of Shea’s skin. Shea dragged his mouth down to
Christian’s neck then dropped his body down to lie completely on Christian, as he sucked and licked
at his neck. Christian hissed as his skin started to burn wherever Shea touched him. Jesus, he was

ready to explode. He was so hard that it was becoming painful.

“Shea...touch me...please.” Christian gasped.
Shea’s hand was suddenly between them. He dipped under both the loose waistband of the

pajama pants Christian was wearing and his underwear, and then slid his hand deliciously slowly
down the underside of Christian’s cock. Christian dug his head back into the couch cushion as his
eyes practically rolled back into his head. Shea’s calloused hand closed around his shaft and started
pumping slowly. The strangled cry that came out of Christian was something he’d never heard come
out of himself before.

“Jesus, Chris.” Shea choked before dragging his mouth back up to ravage Christian’s.
Christian moaned low and kissed Shea like there was no tomorrow, pouring out all of the love he

felt for the man on top of him. A minute later, Shea tore his mouth away and immediately pushed up
to his knees. He grabbed the waistband of Christian’s pajama pants and underwear and tore them
both off.

Christian’s eyes widened as he watched Shea tear off his own pants and underwear. He had to be

fucking dreaming! He was going to wake up from it any minute now... any minute...Shea again
covered Christian’s body with his own, cutting off all thoughts in Christian’s mind.

“Christian, tell me what to do, what do you like?” Shea murmured, his lips brushing against

Christian’s.

“I will love anything you do, I swear, just please don’t stop.” Christian breathed, his hands

wandering over Shea’s taut backside and gave it a squeeze.

Shea’s breath hitched and his hips jutted forward which caused their hard cocks to rub together.

“Shit,” Shea moaned.

Christian reached down, wrapped his hand around both of them, and started to jerk them off

together. Shea pushed up to his hands and dropped his head down to watch. Christian couldn’t help
but watch, too. It was seriously sexy and Christian didn’t want to miss a moment of their first sexual
encounter together. Shea thrust slightly into Christian’s hand, his breath coming hard and fast.

“Motha...fuck...Chris, I’m gonna come,” Shea bit out.
“Me, too.” Christian panted.
Christian pumped his hand faster and squeezed a little tighter. Shea cried out, his whole body

jerking as he came hard. Christian felt the first spurt of Shea’s come hit his stomach and he lost it.
He grit his teeth as he exploded along with Shea, who moaned long and low. Christian opened his
eyes, not even realizing that he had closed them and saw Shea staring down at him, his dark eyes
swirling with such intense emotions that it made Christian’s heart stop in his chest.

Never in all of Shea’s twenty-seven years had he ever been so overwhelmed - not even when his

parents and sister died. He felt like his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. What he just
did with Christian felt so fucking good that he had no words for it. He didn’t have any words for the
way it made him feel, either. The intensity of the whole situation was leaving him speechless; all he
could do was stare down at Christian, thinking that he wanted more. More of what, though? That was
the question. He already had Christian’s heart. More sex? Well...duh! But something else that he

didn’t quite have a name for.

Shea leaned down and kissed Christian softly. “That...was incredible,” he rasped.
Christian’s brown eyes widened slightly. “Really?” he asked, the hint of hope in his voice hurt

Shea more than he thought it would. Christian still doubted him.

“Yes, really,” Shea answered sincerely.
Christian seemed to let out a breath that he had been holding and Shea bit back a nasty retort. He

didn’t want to ruin the moment, and he knew that he was going to have to work to get Christian to
believe that he really wanted this. Shea grabbed the tissues off the coffee table, took a couple for
himself, and then handed the box to Christian. They cleaned up then put their clothes back on. Shea
left off his dress shirt, though.

Shea looked over at Christian who was now sitting next to him on the couch looking utterly

relaxed for the first time in...shit, Shea couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen Christian
looking so chill.

“Feel better?” Shea asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
Christian rolled his head along the back of the couch so that he could look over at Shea. The lazy

smile that curled his gorgeous mouth has Shea’s heart fluttering madly. “Much better, thank you.”

Shea smiled warmly. “You’re welcome, sweetie pie,” he teased.
Christian chuckled and rested his hand on Shea’s thigh. Shea covered Christian’s hand with his

own. This was so right. Shea knew at that moment that he had made the right decision last night, and
he was going to show Christian just how fucking serious he was about it. He was in this relationship
for the long haul, and he would make sure Christian knew it. Shea Dempsey didn’t do anything half-
assed, and he wasn’t going to start now.

~Chapter 2~

Two weeks later, Christian drove to his parents’ house for dinner; Shea was working late and

couldn’t make it. The job he was working was taking up a lot of his time because the client had a
deadline. Shea had been busting his ass for the past week and a half, working the weekend and
everything. Christian had only seen him for an hour or so the other night and that had been it since he
started the job.

Sebastian and Raelynn were back from their honeymoon in Aruba and had pictures to show them

all, so Christian’s mother, Anne, was having everyone over for dinner. Christian parked his blue
Honda Accord in the driveway behind Henry’s white BMW. He got out of his car just as Quinn and
Margot pulled up. He waited for them to get out of their car. Margot smiled wide and waved as she
walked up to him.

“Bonjour, Christian!” she said happily and kissed both his cheeks before giving him a hug.
“Bonjour, Margot,” he replied with a smile.
She let him go and started up the walkway to the house. Christian turned toward Quinn who

stopped in next to him. “She’s perkier than normal.” He chuckled.

“Quit looking at my woman’s chest,” Quinn replied.
Christian gaped at him. “I...I wasn’t...”
Quinn smiled. “Relax, Chris, I’m just fucking with ya,” he said and clapped Christian on the back

before draping his arm over his shoulders.

Christian narrowed his eyes at Quinn. His brother has definitely changed a lot since Margot came

into his life. He still has not gotten used to Quinn cracking jokes, or actually touching him all of a
sudden. Ever since he came back from that week that he left without a word, he has been a
completely different person - he talked more, he laughed more, and even his face was more
expressive.

Quinn was also in the process of starting his own architectural firm. Since his former friend and

boss, Peter, fired him, Quinn decided that he wanted to be his own boss. Margot also quit her job at
Peter’s firm and was going to be Quinn’s second in command.

They walked into the house together and were met with hugs, kisses, and punches to the gut; those

were from Sebastian, of course. Christian took Adalyn from Henry’s arms since she started reaching
for him and grunting as soon as she saw him. Christian smiled at her. She seemed to like him the
best, and he loved to rub it in Sebastian and Quinn’s faces. Adalyn was the only girl so far, and they
all wanted to be her favorite, but she always wanted Christian.

Suddenly, all of the women started screaming. Christian looked up to find them all huddled

around Margot clutching her left hand. He whirled around to look at Quinn, who was beaming, his
arms crossed over his chest as he watched the women fawn over his fiancé. Anne broke away from
the ladies and went to Quinn. She grabbed his face and kissed him.

“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you!” she cried.
“Thanks, mom,” Quinn murmured.
Henry was next to congratulate Quinn. “When did this happen?” he asked after giving Quinn a

hug.

“I actually proposed at the reception, but we decided to let Sebastian and Raelynn have their

time in the spotlight before we told everyone.” Quinn shrugged.

“Aw, Quinn, that was so sweet of you,” Raelynn said sincerely and gave him a hug.
Christian moved in to give Quinn a hug. “Congrats, man.”
“Thanks.”
Christian hoped that his smile looked genuine because the sadness that settled in his heart almost

brought him to his knees. Then Sebastian made a comment that had him going into a full out panic
attack mode.

“You’re next little brother!” Sebastian chuckled and grabbed Christian’s shoulders from behind,

giving him a playful shake.

Christian swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat. His heart pounded wildly in his chest

and his vision went a little fuzzy. He tried to pull in a deep breath but he just couldn’t. Henry, who
was standing in front of him, frowned and took Adalyn out of his arms.

“Chris, you okay? You look really pale,” Henry said, concerned.
Christian jerkily shook his head and raced down the hall toward the bathroom. He heard

Sebastian call, “I was only kidding!” just as he shut the door behind him. He sat down on the edge of
the tub and tucked his head between his knees. He pulled in a breath through his nose and blew it out
of his mouth. He repeated this until he got his anxiety under control.

Christian rested his face in his hands. What the fuck? How the hell was he supposed to ever tell

his family that he would most likely never be getting “married”? Now, all of his brothers were
going to be married and popping out kids while he hid his relationship with his best friend and let
his family think that he just didn’t want to settle down. He was never going to fit in with his
brother’s perfect lives and it killed him. He hated that he was never going to be able to give his
mother the grandchildren that she expected him to have. Even Quinn, who had been super fucked up
from being raped as a child was now getting married and would most likely have kids in the near
future. He was next in line; his family expected him to follow in their footsteps; they expected him to
get married and have kids. Little did they know that it wasn’t possible for Christian.

A light knock sounded on the door followed by Margot’s voice. “Christian? Chéri, can I come

in?”

“Yeah.” Christian sighed and straightened up.
She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. “Is everything okay?” she asked,

her tone concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a panic attack.”
“But why?” she asked curiously, her gaze on him was more perceptive than he would have liked.
He shrugged. “Don’t know, sometimes they just hit me out of nowhere,” he said. It was partially

the truth; sometimes they did come out of nowhere, just not this time.

“Mmm hmm, but as soon as Sebastian said that you were next, you had a panic attack,” she said

with a pointed look.

Dammit! “I...it...it’s just not in the cards for me, that’s all,” he muttered, averting his eyes, hoping

Margot didn’t see too much.

“Why not? You are a very handsome man, Christian. I am sure you have women falling at your

feet all of the time,” she said, sitting down next to him on the side of the tub.

Why did she have to be so damn persistent?
“Or would you rather it be men?” Margot whispered.
He whipped his head around to stare at her in shock. How that hell did she know? She gave him

a gentle smile and nodded as she patted his thigh.

“Oui, that is what I thought.”
Christian’s mouth worked but nothing came out.
“You do not have to worry, I will not say anything, it is your secret to tell,” she said softly then

stood and headed for the door.

“Margot!” he called after her.
Margot turned with her hand on the doorknob. She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to

continue.

“How?” Christian sputtered.
“That is my secret,” she said with a wink before leaving him alone in the bathroom.
Holy fucking shit! Someone knew! This meant that other people could know, too! What if Margot

couldn’t keep it a secret and told Quinn? Oh god! Christian scrambled to the toilet just in time.

Quinn got undressed and crawled onto the bed. He had gotten rid of his studio apartment and

moved into Margot’s condo. He sat against the headboard and watched her flit around the room, as
she got ready for bed. She was humming to herself as she took out her earrings and placed them in
her jewelry box.

“What did Christian say when you went to talk to him?” he asked. The question has been bugging

him the whole night.

Christian had run off to the bathroom after Sebastian’s “You’re next” comment, then made a

couple of repeat trips to the bathroom before saying that he didn’t feel well and left. The last time he
had seen Christian’s anxiety that bad was a couple of years ago when Henry was in the plane crash.

Margot glanced over her shoulder at him. “Nothing really. I just asked if he was okay. He did not

really say much,” she replied, lifting one delicate shoulder in a nonchalant shrug.

Quinn narrowed his eyes at her. She wasn’t telling him everything. He knew her too well and

noticed that she blinked a bit too much when she answered. That was her tell when she was lying,
blinking rapidly.

“Why are you lying to me?” He sighed.
She turned to stare at him with her large innocent hazel eyes. “I am not lying,” she replied and

blinked a million times.

“Sweetheart, you are the worst liar ever, you might as well cough it up. What did Christian say?”
Margot shook her head and rolled her lips in. She had a secret and she wasn’t going to tell.

Damn! He knew better than anyone did that when Margot had a secret that she wasn’t supposed to
share, there was nothing that would make her budge. Stubborn woman! What could Christian be
hiding? Quinn knew that there was always something bugging his little brother, but he would never
share. Margot must have gotten it out of him somehow, or maybe she just figured it out. She was
extremely smart, very perceptive, and persistent; she might have annoyed his brother to the point that
he just blurted it out. Quinn smiled to himself. God, he loved her.

“Is there anything I can do to make you tell me?” Quinn asked, dropping his voice to the husky

growl that he knew turned her on.

Margot’s eyes immediately darkened with desire. “Non.” She breathed as she crawled up onto

the bed toward him. “But I think there is something I can do to make you stop asking.”

Oh fuck yes! “Oh yeah?” he growled, as he watched her crawl over his lap. He was already hard

from the anticipation.

She settled herself between his legs and leaned down to kiss him through his underwear. His

breath caught then hissed when her mouth closed over the head of his cock. The barrier of his
boxer/briefs seemed to make her mouth hotter than normal. He groaned and arched under her. She
loved to torture him that was for sure.

“Are you going to stop asking?” she murmured.
“I’ll do whatever you want as long as you don’t stop what you’re doing.” He panted, feeling her

smile against him.

“Good boy.” She purred.
Quinn couldn’t help but smile. Margot was the devil in disguise.

Shea was up on the roof of the house he was working on putting in a damn sky light above the

island counter in the kitchen. The couple that hired Platt and Sons - the construction company that he
worked for - were picky as hell, and were really starting to get on his nerves. They have a deadline
of a month for Shea - who was the foreman on the job - and his guys, to gut and renovate the entire
kitchen, which was not enough time. Then on top of that, they kept changing and adding shit.

Usually he could kind of hang back and supervise, but not with this job. They needed everyone

on their six-man team to be working. That was why he was on the roof installing a skylight. Shea
was sweating bullets; it was only April, and wasn’t super hot out, but the sun was high and there was
not a cloud in the sky, so he was roasting. He had stripped off his shirt a while ago to try to cool off
some, but it wasn’t really helping.

Shea straightened up to stretch his back out because it was bothering him from being hunched

over when, all of a sudden, he somehow lost his footing on the slanted roof and started tumbling. He
could not find anything to stop himself and his last thought before he went off the edge of the roof
was that he hoped he didn’t land on his head. He had no desire to be a vegetable.

The sensation of falling made Shea want to puke. He was falling somewhat sideways, and he

didn’t have enough time to correct it because it was only a one-story drop, and the ground came up
too fast. Shea hit the grass, landing partially on his right side. He heard and felt his collarbone snap
as all of the air knocked out of his lungs. His head smacked the ground hard, leaving him dizzy and
confused. He could hear shouting but he didn’t know where it was coming from or what was being
said.

“Shea! Yo, Dempsey, are you hurt?” came Connor’s voice from somewhere above him. Connor

was one of the guys working under him.

Shea tried to blink past the fog and focus on the face that was hovering over his, but he just

couldn’t. The pain in his shoulder was slowly getting worse and he was really freaking tired.

Shea gasped and cried out in pain when he felt his body being moved. His eyes flew open and

glanced around to see that he was now strapped down on a stretcher with a neck brace, while being

put into the back of an ambulance. What the fuck happened? He looked around to see his guys all
standing around watching, looking concerned. A paramedic hopped into the back of the ambulance
and shut the door. He was a young guy with shaggy brown hair. He gave Shea a reassuring smile as
he sat down on the bench next to him.

“Hey, buddy, how we doing?” Shaggy cut asked.
“Pain,” was all Shea could get out, because for real, the pain was unbearable.
“I know man, I’m gonna get you something to ease the pain. My name is Will, by the way.”
“Shea.”
“Shea, yeah, I know, your friends told me.”
Will moved about the back of the ambulance as it started on its merry way, lights and sirens

blaring. Shea was ready to pass the fuck out or throw up from the pain. He couldn’t even get out
anything other than weird whimpering noises to tell Will to move his ass and get him some drugs.
Will finally got his arm prepped and slid the needle home, injecting something into Shea’s arm that
sent him flying high.

Shea’s head lolled to the side, luckily in Will’s direction, because he was not going to be able to

move it from where it landed. “I love you,” he slurred.

Will chuckled and patted Shea’s thigh. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
Shea sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He could hear Will moving about, but he didn’t care.

He didn’t care about anything at the moment. A blanket draped over him covering him up to his chin,
which was good because the pain medication and the saline were making him cold. Once they
arrived at the emergency room, Will handed him over to the doctor and nurses with a report on his
condition. Shea tried to answer their questions as best as he could, but between the medication and
the possible concussion, who knows what the hell came out of his mouth.

Christian was in the middle of washing paintbrushes when his cell phone rang. He groaned and

quickly rinsed his hands and dried them with a paper towel. He was hoping it was Shea because he
hadn’t spoken to him since last night and he missed him. He pulled his cell phone out of the pocket
and looked at the number; a bolt of disappointment hit him, as he didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?” he answered, deciding to see who it was.
“Hi, is this Christian Beck?” the friendly female voice said on the other end.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Beck, my name is Darlene, and I’m a nurse at Abington Hospital. I’m calling you because a

Mr. Shea Dempsey has been brought to the emergency room and according to him, you are his
emergency contact,” Darlene said.

Christian’s heart leapt up into his throat. “Yes, I am. Is he okay?”
“He is in stable condition, so yes, he is doing okay.”
“What happened? Did he get hurt at work?” Christian asked, dreading the answer. Those were

some of his worst nightmares; the ones where Shea gets his arm or leg cut off with a saw or
something.

“Yes, Mr. Beck, he did. He fell off a roof and broke his clavicle, and he has a mild concussion.

Is it possible for you to come to the hospital? We need to release him into someone’s care because
of the concussion. He will need to be supervised for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Christ!” Christian breathed. “Okay, no problem. I will be there in about an hour.”
“Great, just come to the emergency room and tell the nurse at the desk who you are there for,”

Darlene said.

“Okay, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They said goodbye then Christian hung up. He fought off the panic that threatened to consume

him. He needed to get to Shea, and he didn’t have time to be stuck in the bathroom throwing up. He
just kept telling himself that Shea was okay. He was most likely resting comfortably on drugs and
annoying the nurses. Luckily, Christian had already closed up shop and there was no one to kick out
of the studio. He would finish washing the brushes another time; for now, he would just set them in
water and get the hell out of there.

He was on the highway ten minutes later. Part of the ride was highway while the second half was

back roads. He was most impatient on the back roads because they were mostly one lane and he kept
getting stuck behind the one person who was in no rush to get anywhere. Some of the curses that
came out of his mouth were so nasty that Christian was shocked that he even said them out loud. He
made it in just about an hour like he said. He parked in the first spot he could find then quickly made
his way to the emergency room doors. He gave the nurse at the desk Shea’s name and was told to
wait; fifteen minutes later another nurse came into the waiting room and called for him.

Christian followed the nurse back into the triage bay and tried not to look at the people who were

broken, bleeding, or sick in the beds they passed. The nurse stopped and pulled back a curtain to
reveal Shea. Christian thanked her and she told him that she would be back in a minute with
discharge papers before she walked away.

He looked at Shea, who seemed to be asleep on the small bed. He was shirtless with his right

arm in a sling and a swathe that wrapped around both his torso and arm to hold his arm in place.
Christian swallowed back the urge to gag; it just turned his stomach that Shea had been hurt. He fell
off a freaking roof for Christ’s sake! He could have landed on his head or broken his neck or his
back. God, this could have been so much worse.

Christian stepped up to the left side of the bed and touched Shea’s arm. He started then grunted in

pain and shifted slightly on the bed. He dragged his eyes open and looked up at Christian. A lazy,
definitely drugged up, smile lifted his lips.

“Hey, buuuddy,” Shea said, sounding a lot like Pauly Shore at the moment.
“Hey, Shea, how you doing?” Christian asked, smoothing his hand over Shea’s shortly cropped

hair.

“Mmm, better now that you’re here, lover,” he murmured, reaching out with his left hand to pat

Christian’s stomach. After only two pats, his hand fell away as if it was just too heavy for him to
hold up.

Christian smiled slightly. “As soon as the nurse gets back with your discharge papers, we’ll get

out of here.”

“Sweet, can we stop and get ice cream on the way home?”
“Ice cream?” Christian repeated, raising an eyebrow in question.
“I got a boo-boo so I think I deserve some ice cream, dammit,” he said seriously.

Christian choked back a laugh at Shea’s obviously medicated state and smoothed his hand over

his hair again. “We’ll stop at Wendy’s and get you a Frosty. Does that sound good?”

“Can I have a chocolate one?” Shea asked, eyeing Christian suspiciously.
“You sure can,” Christian said, feeling like he was talking to Ethan instead of Shea.
Shea nodded, but he was still looking up at him as if he wasn’t sure if Christian was telling the

truth or not. The nurse showed up a few minutes later with Shea’s discharge papers and a list of
instructions for his care. Christian kept a firm hold of Shea’s left arm as they walked out to the car.
He was still a bit loopy and Christian was terrified that he was going to bump into something and
hurt himself even more.

Shea fell asleep almost as soon as Christian pulled out of the parking lot. Christian pulled into

his driveway an hour later. He got out, went around to the passenger side, and opened the door. Shea
was still out cold.

“Shea? Hey, bud, wake up,” Christian said, patting his thigh.
Shea dragged his eyes open, blinking a few times before looking up at Christian. “Did you get my

ice cream?” was the first this he asked.

“Not yet,” Christian murmured and helped him get out of the car.
“Fucker, I want my Frosty.” Shea grunted as he straightened up.
“Relax, I’ll get you your Frosty, don’t worry,” Christian soothed.
“I think you’re a mothafuckin’ liar, Christian Beck,” he muttered as he started for the front door.
Christian sighed and rolled his eyes. Shea was not a pleasant person when he was on pain

medication…actually, he was a massive pain in the ass. The last time he was on pain meds was a
few years ago when he threw his back out. Christian found him laid out, flat on his back, on the floor
in his living room because he was unable to get up. Apparently, he bent over to pick up a magazine
off his coffee table and when he straightened back up, out went his back. It was spasming so hard
that he was having trouble pulling in a deep breath, and Christian had to call an ambulance. He also
took care of him then for about a week, and he was a vicious asshole because of the pain medication.
Christian had sworn that he’d never do that again, but really, what choice did he have? Shea had no
family to take care of him. Plus, now he was his boyfriend. There was definitely some obligation
there.

“Open the damn door!” Shea shouted and kicked the front door.
“Hey! Knock that shit off before you hurt yourself even more!” Christian snapped and rushed

over to unlock the front door.

“Fuck off,” Shea muttered in return as he brushed past Christian to walk into the house.
Gritting his teeth, Christian followed, shutting the door behind him. He tossed his keys on the

table next to the door and went to find out where Shea went. He found him in the kitchen trying to
open a bottle of beer with his teeth.

“Dammit, Shea, you can’t have that!” Christian growled in irritation as he snatched the bottle out

of his hand and put it back in the fridge.

Shea mumbled a string of curses as he shuffled out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Christian’s house wasn’t overly big; it was a small three bedroom single family home with a two-
car garage that he used as his personal painting studio and for storage. He had gotten the place cheap
about six years ago because it needed a lot of work. Shea had helped with that.

Christian followed Shea out into the living room, where Shea carefully sat down on the couch

and grabbed the remote. After turning on the fifty-two inch flat screen TV that hung on the wall
above the fireplace, he settled back into the couch, wincing a few times as he shifted to get
comfortable.

Within minutes, he passed out again, his chin resting on his chest. Christian shook his head, went

back into the kitchen, and picked up his cordless phone from where it sat on the counter. He punched
in Quinn’s number and waited.

“Hello?” Quinn answered, his familiar low gravelly tone easing some of Christian’s angst.
“Hey, Quinn,” he replied with a sigh.
“Feeling any better since last night?” Quinn asked.
Christian had left his parents’ house early last night after have a gigantic panic attack that he just

couldn’t get under control. After throwing up twice and then dry heaving, he just had to get out of
there.

“I was until I had to go pick up Shea from Abington Hospital,” he replied.
“What happened? Is he alright?” Quinn asked in concern.
“Yeah, he fell off a roof and broke his collar bone.”
“Aw hell, I’m guessing he’s on pain medication then?”
Christian just grunted. All of his brothers knew how Shea acted on pain meds. They have known

Shea so long that he was considered part of the family, another brother even. Christian couldn’t
imagine what his brothers will think once they found out that the two of them were together. Would
they be disgusted? Disappointed?

“That sucks,” Quinn said sympathetically.
“Yeah, it does, but I was calling to ask you a favor. Could you possibly run to Wendy’s and get

Shea a chocolate Frosty? He won’t stop bugging me about it and I don’t want to leave him here
alone,” Christian said.

Quinn chuckled. “A chocolate Frosty?”
“For his boo-boo he said.” Christian snorted.
Quinn barked out a laugh. “I am so telling Sebastian about that.”
Christian chuckled. “Yeah, go right ahead, maybe Sebastian can come up with some witty retorts

for Shea’s off the wall comments.”

“Oh man...yeah, I’ll get the Frosty. See you in about twenty minutes.” Quinn laughed then said

goodbye before hanging up. In twenty minutes, Christian was sure that all three of his brothers were
going to be at his house.

Shea awoke to something cold pressed against his cheek. His eyes fluttered open and he couldn’t

stop the groan that came out. Standing around him were Christian’s brothers, each one of them with
a shit-eatin’ grin on his face.

“Aw, the wittle baby is awake. Here baby, here’s your ice cweam,” Sebastian said in a mocking

tone that made Shea want to punch him in his fucking face.

Shea snatched the Frosty cup out of his hand and snarled at him. “Fuck you, asshole.”
Shea shifted to try to sit up higher so that he could eat the damn Frosty, but the pain that radiated

from his collarbone was almost unbearable. He gasped and held out the cup for someone to take it.
He didn’t see who grabbed it and he really didn’t care. Shea squeezed his eyes shut and bared his
teeth as he tried to breathe through the excruciating pain; obviously the medication he got in the ER
has worn off.

“Chris!” He choked.
“Coming!” Christian called from what sounded like the direction of the kitchen.
“Dude, for real? Are you seriously in that much pain or are you just being a pussy?” Sebastian

asked skeptically.

“Watch out!” Christian’s voice snapped. “Here, Shea.”
Shea then felt Christian press a pill into his left hand, which he immediately tossed into his

mouth, and then Christian put a glass of water in his hand. Shea downed that, swallowing the pill
with it. He prayed that it worked fast because he was ready to throw the hell up.

“Chris, is he for real?” Sebastian asked again.
“Yes, he is actually in a lot of pain. They can’t set the bone like they would your leg or arm, so

moving is going to hurt if the medicine wears off.”

“That sucks,” Quinn said.
“Yeah, it does,” Henry drawled.
Shea cracked an eye open to see what everyone was doing when Sebastian flopped down onto

the couch next to him, on his right side of course, and jostled the hell out of him. Shea screamed in
agony and used his left hand to help cradle his right arm.

“AAAGGGHHHHH!!! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! I HATE YOU! GET THE FUCK AWAY

FROM ME!” Shea screamed, as he kicked at Sebastian as best he could.

“Ow! Shit, I’m sorry...ow! Stop kicking me! I didn’t mean to do that!” Sebastian cried as he

scrambled to get away from Shea’s kicks.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Henry snapped. Shea heard a “thwap” sound, which was

most likely Henry slapping Sebastian upside the head.

“Dammit! I didn’t mean to hurt him! You don’t have to hit me!”
“You’re a fucking idiot,” Quinn muttered.
Another “thwap.” “Sonofabitch! Will you knock that shit off?”
“That was Quinn that time.” Henry chuckled.
“Alright, you know what? Why don’t you guys just go. Obviously, you can’t be trusted around an

injured person,” Christian said calmly, but Shea could hear the edge to his voice, he was freaking
fuming.

“I’m sorry!” Sebastian whined.
“It’s fine, just go,” Christian replied.
A few minutes later, after they all said goodbye to each other, Shea heard the door shut. He was

still trying not to throw up on Christian’s floor when he heard Christian walk back into the living
room.

“God, Shea, I’m so sorry,” he rushed to say when he returned.
“Mmm hmm,” was all he could get out through his clenched teeth.
“What can I do? Is there anything?” Christian asked.
“You can suck my fucking dick, you asshole. You called them didn’t you?” Shea shouted and

opened his eyes to glare at Christian in accusation.

He frowned. “I called Quinn and asked him to pick up your goddamn Frosty,” he snapped.
“Well that was fucking stupid. You knew they would all show up!”
Christian raked a hand through his hair and paced away. “I can’t deal with this shit right now,

Shea,” he muttered and started toward the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Shea called after him.
“I need a break from your nasty attitude,” he replied before storming out of the back door and

slamming the door behind him.

“Dammit!” Shea yelled into the now empty house.
He wasn’t trying to be an asshole but he just couldn’t help it when he was in pain. Shea sat there

brooding for a good fifteen minutes, waiting for the medicine to kick in. Soon, the pain was down to
a dull throb, and he could get himself off the couch. He knew where Christian went, so he headed in
that direction. Out the back door, he followed the path that led to the garage. He didn’t bother
knocking, he just walked in. The smell of paint and mustiness hit him in the face as he entered.
Christian was standing with his back toward the door as he painted on a large canvas that was set up
on an easel. He looked like he was painting some kind of cityscape and he didn’t bother turning
around when Shea entered. Shea knew he had to have heard him.

“Chris, I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Christian didn’t make any kind of acknowledgement that he had even heard Shea; he just kept

painting like he wasn’t there. Shea sighed and hung his head.

“Chris, can you please talk to me?”
“Not right now,” Christian whispered.
Shea walked over and stopped behind him; he slipped his arm around his waist and kissed the

back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Christian, please...”

“I’m busy right now, Shea,” Christian muttered harshly.
Damn, he really hurt Christian this time. “Can you just stop for a minute and let me apologize?”

he pleaded quietly.

Christian sighed heavily and tossed his paintbrush down on the table next to him. “I really don’t

want to hear it right now,” he said as he moved out of Shea’s embrace and headed for the door.

“Really, Chris? Come on!”
Christian whirled around, his brown eyes flashing angrily. “I thought I had done something nice

for you, getting you the ice cream that you had asked for multiple times and what do I get? I get
cursed and screamed at. I understand that you’re in pain, Shea, but I’m not going to let you treat me
like shit.”

“I know. That’s why I’m trying to apologize to you, dammit!” Shea snapped.
Christian’s mouth tightened, he just turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. Shea

growled in aggravation and scrubbed his face with his good hand. Alright, they both needed to calm
down for a few minutes. Shea left the garage and went to sit at the table on the back patio. It was
starting to get dark and a bit chilly, but Shea wanted to give Christian some space to let him calm
down.

He hadn’t even realized that he fell asleep until a hand landed on the back of his neck. Shea

yawned and looked back to see Christian standing beside him. He jerked his head in the direction of
the house then helped Shea out of the chair. He could definitely feel the ache starting to take hold
again.

“Chris, can you get me another Percocet?” Shea asked quietly.
“Sure,” Christian murmured and followed him into the house.
Shea waited in the kitchen while Christian got him a glass of water and another pill. After he

took it, they both headed up to bed. Christian helped Shea get out of his jeans and then helped him
get into bed. Christian had set up the right side of the bed with a bunch of pillows so that Shea could
sleep somewhat upright; there would be no lying flat for a couple of weeks.

He then watched as Christian undressed, and damn it if he didn’t get turned on. They haven’t

done anything since the morning after the wedding a couple of weeks ago. Shea has been too busy
with work, usually going right home to bed. Now that he will be out of work for a couple of months,
he has plenty of time to do everything he wants to do to Christian.

Christian was built really nice. He was tall with broad shoulders and a trim waist. His chest and

arms were nicely defined, and his abs looked like they were chiseled out of granite. His legs were
long and muscled, and his ass was the perfect combination of rounded and toned. He kept on his
black briefs as he climbed into bed.

He watched as Christian crawled over to him and stopped so that they were nose to nose.

Christian’s eyes searched his for a moment before he leaned down and kissed him. Shea groaned and
grasped the back of Christian’s neck. Christian then shifted so that he straddled Shea’s lap. Shea’s
cock jumped to attention. What was he doing?

“What...what are you...doing?” Shea grunted between kisses.
“You did tell me to suck your dick, didn’t you?” Christian whispered and started to kiss his way

down the good side of Shea’s neck.

Shea’s stomach flipped in anticipation. He never thought that he would ever want or have another

guy suck his dick, but this was Christian, his boyfriend, and he couldn’t help but find himself actually
looking forward to it. He was curious to see if it was anything like how a woman would do it, or if it
was just a completely different experience altogether. Their first foray into sex had been exciting and
new. Shea had been pleasantly surprised by how amazing it felt, and if the rest of it were anything
close to that, then he would be completely happy for the rest of his life to never be with another
woman again.

Christian moved down the bed and Shea’s body until he settled on his knees between Shea’s

legs. Christian gently took off Shea’s boxers and tossed them to the floor. Shea swallowed hard as
he waited, so afraid that he was going to come as soon as Christian’s mouth touched him. He was
already fighting to keep his eyes from rolling back into his head.

“Shouldn’t I be doing this to you as an apology?” Shea teased.
“You would be if you weren’t injured,” Christian said, his dark eyes lifting to pin Shea with a

serious look.

“Is that a rule for gay guys that I didn’t know about?” Shea asked, lifting an eyebrow in question.
“No, but that’s my rule,” he said, the one side of his full mouth kicking up.
“When were you going to tell me about this rule?” Shea breathed as Christian spread his legs

further apart.

Christian just shrugged and settled on his stomach between Shea’s legs. Shea licked his lips as

he watched Christian. Oh god, the anticipation was going to kill him. Christian bent forward but
stopped a breath away from Shea’s balls, rolled just his eyes up, and looked at Shea with a heated
stare.

“Are you sure you want this?” Christian breathed.
“Fuck yes!” Shea choked, almost screaming at him to keep going.
A seductive smile curled Christian’s lips and Shea’s heart fluttered. How had they gone so long

before getting together like this? It seemed so obvious to Shea now that they were kind of meant to
be together. Shea lost his train of thought after that because Christian lowered his mouth and sucked
one of Shea’s balls into his mouth.

“Holy shit!” Shea gasped and fisted the sheet next to him.
Christian did the same to the other one before moving to lick up the underside of his cock with a

flat tongue. Shea’s cock twitched when he reached the head. He was already panting and Christian
had barely gotten started.

“You have never had a guy do this to you, right?” Christian asked softly.
“No, I swear, you are my first for everything regarding gay sex.” Shea promised.
“Okay,” Christian said, seeming satisfied with his answer.
He then lifted Shea’s cock off his stomach and wrapped his mouth around the head, swirling his

tongue around it. Shea choked out a string of curses and fought the urge to bow up off the bed,
positive that that would cause him a lot of pain. Christian took him into his mouth deeper, going
almost to the hilt before coming back up. Shea forced himself to watch. Christian’s head bobbed up
and down as he sucked and licked Shea closer and closer to complete oblivion.

Christian brought his hands in on the action, stroking him as he sucked with one, while the other

lightly cupped his balls, one finger rubbing the area right behind them. Shea reached up with his free
hand and shoved it into Christian’s hair to grip it tightly. His hips flexed in time with Christian’s
rhythm.

“Holy...fuck...oh Jesus!” Shea cried out.
Christian hummed around him and Shea’s eyes rolled back in his head. This was better than any

head he has ever gotten, from any women. Apparently, none of those women knew what the hell they
were doing, but Christian? Christian was a pro. Shea had no idea how many dicks his best friend
had sucked, and honestly, he really didn’t want to know. An odd possessiveness that he’s never felt
before when it came to Christian swirled through him. Christian was now his, and he would only be
sucking one dick for the rest of his life, and that was Shea’s.

Shea felt his abs tighten and his cock throbbed and tingled. He was oh so close. “Chris, I’m

gonna come...” He breathed. “Oh god...Christian!”

Christian sped up his movements, throwing Shea over the edge. He let out a strangled cry as he

came into Christian’s mouth, his hand tightening in Christian’s hair. Shea accidently jerked a little
too much, pain burst from his collarbone, but he grit his teeth against it. He didn’t want to let
Christian know that he was in pain.

Shea yanked Christian’s head up by the grip on his hair when he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay...okay, that’s enough.” He panted.

Christian chuckled and rolled over onto his back. “Did you like that?”
“That’s a dumb question,” Shea scoffed.
Christian hummed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Enjoyed it? Man, that was the best blowjob I have ever had. ” Shea sighed contently.
He could see Christian grinning where he lay next to Shea’s hip. Shea reached over and stroked

Christian’s hair, his heart pounding, and not just from what just happened. Shea’s feelings for his

best friend were changing just as he knew they would. He had told Christian a couple of weeks ago
that he wouldn’t be hard to fall in love with. Shea was surprised, though, by how fast it was
happening. Then again, he already loved Christian; they had been friends for over twenty years, so
making the jump to being in love with him wasn’t taking much.

“I’m sorry for being a dick earlier, you didn’t deserve it,” Shea murmured as he continued to

stroke Christian’s hair.

“Obviously, I forgive you.” Christian snickered.
Shea chuckled softly. “I know, but I just needed to say it again.”
Christian got up and gave him a soft slow kiss before pulling the covers up over both of them and

settling down on his side of the bed. Shea desperately wanted to hold him in his arms, but it wasn’t
possible, so he settled for lacing his fingers together with Christian’s. Christian kissed the back of
his hand and held it against his chest. They fell asleep that way.

~Chapter 3~

“Chris, I really need a shower,” Shea muttered as he sat at the table the next morning, drinking

his coffee. “I can smell myself and it’s not pleasant.”

Christian chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”
Shea glared at him from where he sat across the table. “I need your help.”
Christian nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “Okay, whenever you’re ready,” he agreed.
“Let me finish my coffee, and then we can go.”
Christian nodded again as he eyed him over the rim of his coffee mug. There was an amused glint

in his eye, a hint of desire, which made Shea’s belly flutter. He didn’t expect to enjoy the things that
he and Christian have done together as much as he did. He thought it would have been weird or
something, but it was turning out to be much more pleasurable being with a man than it was being
with a woman. Shea didn’t know if it was just because it was Christian, or if it would be this way
with all men.

After they both finished their coffees, they headed upstairs to take a shower. Christian stripped

down to his underwear then turned on the shower. He moved to help Shea out of his pajama pants
and underwear that he put on this morning. He shucked off his own underwear before helping Shea
take off the swathe and sling. Shea had to cradle his right arm so that it didn’t hang. Christian
stepped into the shower first, and then helped Shea step in before sliding the curtain back into place.

While Shea held his arm against his chest, Christian did all of the washing. He washed Shea’s

hair first then moved on to his body. Shea closed his eyes and savored the feel of Christian’s hands
stroking and gliding all over him. Christian’s hands came to his cock, which was hard – no surprise
there – and lathered it up with soap. He stroked it a couple of times before going down to massage
his balls. Christian took a step closer and wrapped both arms around Shea as he started to clean his
back.

Shea swallowed hard as he felt Christian get closer to his ass. Shea was still somewhat leery

about that one thing. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being fucked in his ass. He couldn’t see how it

could possibly feel good.

He could feel Christian’s mouth hovering over his, but he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to

show Christian what he was feeling at the moment. He was sure his apprehension would show in his
eyes, and he didn’t want Christian to doubt him any more then he already did.

Christian’s hands cupped his rear end for a moment before coming back up to the small of his

back. One hand then slipped down his crack and brushed over his hole, making him clench
unintentionally.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” Christian whispered soothingly as he continued to rub the area

slowly.

Shea took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. If he had to do this to keep Christian in his

life, then he had to do this. Soft lips met his for a slow languorous kiss. Christian’s finger drew lazy
circles around his hole as they continued to kiss. Shea had trouble focusing on the kiss when he knew
that at any moment, Christian was going to stick his finger up his ass. His heart pounded furiously, he
didn’t think he was ready for this.

“If you’re not ready, just say so. I will understand,” Christian murmured against his lips as if

reading his mind.

Shea opened his eyes at that. He needed to know if Christian was serious or not. Would he really

understand? Or was he testing him? Christian’s soft brown eyes searched his.

“Really, Shea. We’ve only been together for two weeks,” he said, sincerely.
Shea cleared his clogged throat. “I’m not ready for that,” he rasped.
Christian smiled slightly and slid his hand up and away from Shea’s ass.
“I’m sorry,” Shea whispered.
Christian shook his head. “It’s fine, Shea. I didn’t expect you to do everything in just a couple of

weeks.”

Shea nodded. Christian then shuffled them around so that Shea was under the water. Christian

smoothed his hands over him to get the soap off, and cleaned himself quickly before they got out.
Christian dried Shea off and helped him back into his sling and swathe. The doctor said he would
need both for the first week, then probably just the sling the second week. It could take anywhere
from four to eight weeks to get back to fully functioning.

“I hate needing someone to help me do simple shit like this,” Shea grumbled as he followed

Christian down the hall to his bedroom.

Christian shrugged one muscled shoulder. “Nothing you can do about it.”
Shea huffed and sat down on the bed as Christian pulled out something for him to wear. Shea had

his own drawer. They spent so much time at each other’s houses that it just seemed like a good idea
to keep clothes and other things there. Like right now, it came in handy; Shea didn’t have to pack a
bag from his house to bring over because his shit was already here. They did that shortly after his
family had died in the fire. Christian basically moved in with Shea for a little while. He had been
devastated, and Christian helped to keep him from losing it completely.

The entire Beck clan had been really supportive at that time. Anne and Henry Sr. made a crap

load of food for him, and brought it over to his house. Henry helped take care of all of his parents’
financial stuff, since Shea had no idea where to start. Claire had somehow gotten a hold of old photo
albums and pictures that hadn’t been completely damaged, and made a beautiful new album for him.
Sebastian helped him make all of the funeral arrangements, and Quinn came over to clean up around

his house when was just too depressed to get out of bed. And Christian? Christian was at his side the
whole time, letting him grieve the way he needed to, holding him when he needed him to, forcing him
to pull his life back together and move on because he was still alive. Shea still had no idea how he
could ever thank the family for all that they have done for him.

“Shea?” Christian’s voice asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Shea blinked up at him. “Huh?”
“You okay? You spaced out there for a minute,” he said with a frown.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Shea insisted and tried to push past the pain in his heart.
“Are you hurting? Do you need more medicine?” Christian asked.
“Yeah...yeah, it’s starting to ache,” he agreed.
“Alright, I’ll go grab you some,” Christian said as he pulled on his underwear then a pair of dark

jeans.

Shea watched him walked out of the room, his ass looking fine in those jeans. Shea was still a

little weirded out by how attracted he was to Christian. It wasn’t like that happened overnight either.
It had been a slow build that started years ago. Shea could still remember the exact moment: They
went down to Wildwood, NJ, around four years ago for a weekend and went to the beach one day.
While Shea chilled out on a towel, Christian decided to take a swim in the ocean. Shea watched as
he waded into the surf, and then dove into a wave. He stayed in for a few minutes before making his
way back out. Shea’s breath caught as he watched his best friend stride up the sand toward him.

A couple of girls walking by literally tripped and almost fell because they were staring at him so

hard. Water ran down his hard toned body and made his bathing suit cling to his thighs. Shea’s eyes
drifted to where Christian’s bathing suit clung to something else and a swirl of desire hit him out of
nowhere, shocking the ever-living hell out of him. Something inside Shea turned at that moment, but
he had no idea what it was. Ever since that day, he caught himself on many occasions checking
Christian out, admiring his body and the way he moved, wondering every now and then what it
would be like to kiss him and more. Never in a million years did he ever think that he would actually
get the chance to act on those thoughts.

Christian returned with his medication and a glass of water. After taking it, Christian helped him

get dressed. They didn’t even bother with a shirt, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Will you be alright tonight, or do you want me to cancel the showing?” Christian asked as they

headed back downstairs.

“Don’t cancel the art show, your students look forward to that. Just see if someone can come

over to sit with me. Anyone but Sebastian,” Shea said, giving Christian a pointed look over his
shoulder, making him smile.

“Are you sure? Sebastian can be very entertaining.”
“Dude, I will end up back in the hospital if he comes here to babysit me.” Shea snorted.
Christian laughed. “That is probably true, let me call Quinn.”
Shea nodded. “Good choice.”

Henry cursed silently as some asshole took the parking spot he had been waiting for. If he didn’t

have the kids in the car, he would have flipped the hell out; instead, he just moved on to find another
spot. He was fuming, though. Finally, after a few minutes of driving around, he squeezed into another
spot. Christian’s gallery was in a really bad location for trying to find somewhere to park.

Henry got all three kids out of the car and started down the sidewalk with Ethan, who was now

five, Henry III, who was two, and Adalyn, who was almost nine months old. Ethan was looking less
and less like a baby, and more and more like a growing boy. He was getting tall and thinned out a
lot. His face wasn’t as round as it used to be, and his hair was now cut short, per his request. Ethan
wanted a Mohawk like little Henry, so both boys had short blonde Mohawks. Little Henry was
turning out to be a spitting image of his father, looking exactly like Henry, except he had crystal blue
eyes like his mother. It was funny how Ethan and Henry III looked so much alike even though they
had different biological fathers.

Then there was Henry’s baby girl, Adalyn. She was a gorgeous little girl, naturally. She was her

mother’s child with strawberry blonde curls and big bright blue eyes. Every time Henry took her out,
he was constantly told that she needed to be modeling or on TV or something.

They walked up the steps to the Beck Gallery door and Ethan tried to tug it open. He got it

partially open but it ended up being too heavy and Henry had to help. Ethan helped his little brother
step up the last step and into the gallery, while Henry walked in behind them with Adalyn in his
arms. He hasn’t been to Christian’s gallery in over a year.

The space was a decent size, with it being longer than wide, galley-style. There were partial

walls set up in the middle of the room, splitting it in two in certain areas. There was artwork hung on
every wall. Some of it was incredible – mostly Christian’s work – while the rest was pretty good
for people who were just learning how to paint. Christian also set up a section just for the artwork of
the kids he taught.

“Henry! What are you doing here?” Christian’s voice asked, pulling Henry’s attention away from

the color-filled walls.

He looked up to see Christian striding toward him, his lean body moving smoothly and somewhat

gracefully. He was wearing dark gray slacks with a medium purple shirt under a black vest and tie.
His sleeves rolled up to his elbows and he had a black leather cuff on one wrist. His blonde hair
was styled to perfection and his face was clean-shaven. Henry knew his brother was very fashion
forward, but he was looking extra metro-sexual today.

“Hey, Christian.” Henry smiled, giving him a partial hug since Adalyn was in his arms. “Claire’s

birthday is coming up; she’s been asking for one of your pieces, so I’m going to have the kids help
me pick out a nice picture for her.”

Christian beamed with pride. “Really? That’s awesome.”
Henry nodded and handed over a squirming Adalyn to her favorite uncle. Christian took her and

kissed her before settling her little diapered butt on his forearm. Adalyn’s fingers went right for his
mouth as they always did. Christian chuckled and nibbled on her chubby fingers, making her giggle
around the binky in her mouth. He high-fived Ethan, and pinched little Henry’s cheek.

“Daddy, can I go look around?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, but do not touch anything,” Henry warned sternly, getting a fervent nod from Ethan before

he wandered off.

There were only about ten to fifteen people there, so Henry could see everywhere that Ethan

went. Little Henry sidled closer to Henry’s side and slipped his hand into his daddy’s. He was a bit

shy around people he didn’t know, but that had a lot to do with his age.

“Go ahead and look around. Let me know if you find something you like,” Christian said,

bouncing Adalyn in his arms.

“Alright. You take that one, I’ll take this one,” Henry said, lifting his mini-me into his arms.
Christian nodded and sauntered off with Adalyn. Henry watched his brother walk away.

Something seemed different about him, but Henry couldn’t figure out what it was. One thing he did
notice was that Christian seemed happier lately, only in the past couple of weeks. Henry wondered
what was making him so happy - a girl, maybe?

Henry walked around the gallery, one eye on the art, and one eye on Ethan. He stopped in front of

one of Christian’s paintings. It was a black and white, and it was of a seemingly naked man tangled
in the sheets on a bed. The man was on his stomach and his face turned away. Henry immediately
recognized who it was; he’s known the guy almost his entire life. Why the hell would Christian paint
a picture of Shea, naked, and sleeping in bed? Henry turned to look for Christian and found him
standing slightly behind him, Adalyn still in his arms; the expression on his face was unreadable.

“What’s up with this?” Henry asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
Christian blinked at him and shrugged slightly. “I’m an artist, I find art everywhere,” he said as if

that explained it.

“But why Shea in a bed, naked, tangled up in sheets?” Henry asked, confused.
“I liked the way the sheets where rumpled,” Christian said, waving a hand dismissively.
Henry shook his head slightly, he was still confused, but whatever. “Okaaay.”
“I have a couple of nice landscapes toward the back. Why don’t you go check those out?”

Christian murmured while tickling Adalyn, his eyes on the baby, not Henry.

“Sure,” Henry agreed and hitched his son higher before walking toward the back of the gallery.
Ethan picked out a lovely painting of a calla lily for Claire, one of Christian’s, obviously.

Christian wanted Henry to take it for free, but he insisted on paying for it. Then they gathered up the
kids and walked back out to Henry’s car. Christian put Adalyn in her car seat while Henry strapped
in the other two. After the kids were secured, Henry went to his brother to say goodbye.

“How’s Shea doing anyway?” Henry asked, stuffing his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
“Alright, I guess. He’s still in pain.” Christian shrugged.
Henry nodded, watching him closely. “How long is he going to stay with you?”
“As long as he needs to,” Christian replied evenly.
“Doesn’t he have a girlfriend that can take care of him?” Henry asked curiously. “I swore he was

seeing someone.”

“Not really,” he answered tightly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Henry nodded in understanding. What he didn’t understand, though, was that fucking painting.

Wasn’t it odd for a straight man to paint another straight man, naked and asleep? Henry wondered if
Shea knew about that painting. Henry’s vote would be a no. Whatever was going on with Christian
was going to have to wait for another time; Henry had to get the kids home and ready for bed.

“Okay, let me get out of here. I’ll talk to you later,” Henry said, giving Christian a hug.
“Okay.”
Christian waved as Henry pulled away from the curb. Henry shook his head to himself. Could

his brother possibly be gay? He has never really thought about it before, but he couldn’t remember
ever seeing Christian with a woman. He most definitely never brought one home. A few years ago,

he would have blamed that on his mother, but she has changed, so the man has no reason not to bring
a woman home to meet his family. He was always with Shea, though. Shea was straight, Henry was
sure of that; he’s seen him with multiple women over the years. Henry sighed, confused and not sure
what to think.

Christian got home around midnight, after finishing up transactions, kicking everyone out,

cleaning up, and shutting everything down; it took him about an hour to get out of there. When he
walked in the front door, he saw that both Shea and Quinn fell asleep on the couch, one at each end.
Christian smiled and walked over to Quinn, placing a hand on his shoulder. Quinn stirred, pulling in
a deep breath and rubbing his eyes. He blinked up at Christian.

“Shit, did I fall asleep?” he asked sleepily.
“Yeah, are you alright to drive home?” Christian asked in return.
“Yeah...I just gotta wake the hell up,” he muttered, scrubbing his face hard with both hands.
“Take your time,” Christian replied and patted his shoulder. “How was Shea?”
Christian walked over to his boyfriend and stared down at him. His head was resting on the back

of the couch and he had to fight the urge to smooth his hand over Shea’s short hair. No doubt Quinn
would question him like Henry did tonight, especially if he touched him affectionately.

What a fucking nightmare that had been. He had forgotten about that painting and didn’t really

think anything of it when Henry walked in. None of his brothers have been by the gallery in a while,
so he has been putting up everything that he painted, not just the non-sexual/sensual ones. Every
weekend, when he has the gallery open for showings, almost all of the sexual/sensual paintings that
he produced, of both men and women, have sold.

“He was fine, a bit irritable, but that was about it.” Quinn shrugged, answering the question that

Christian forgot he even asked.

Christian lifted his eyes to find Quinn watching him. Christian ignored the curious look in his

brother’s eyes and said, “Thanks for coming over, Quinn. I really appreciate it.”

Quinn stood and nodded. “No problem, Chris.”
They said their goodbyes before Quinn headed out. Christian shut and locked the door behind

him then went back to Shea. He watched him sleep for a moment, watched how his chest rose and
fell as he breathed and the way his top lip twitched in a very Elvis-like manner. Christian smiled,
his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. Damn, he loved this man so fucking much, but he refused to
say it again. He would not be the only one in a relationship dropping the “L” word, no freaking way.

Christian finally gave into his urge and smoothed his hand over Shea’s dark hair. Shea hummed

softly and dragged his eyes open, looking up at Christian; he gave him a slow smile.

“Hey pumpkin, did you have a nice night?” he drawled.
Christian snorted at the ridiculous endearment. “Yes, although Henry stopped by and saw that

painting I did of you in bed.” He sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Shea.

Shea’s expression remained neutral. “And? What did he say?” he asked evenly.
“He wanted to know why I would paint you in bed naked. I told him that I like the way the sheets

were rumpled,” Christian mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

Shea sighed heavily. “I don’t understand why you don’t just tell them that you’re gay.”
“Because, Shea, I don’t know how they are going to feel about it. I couldn’t handle it if they

decide that they can’t accept my being gay,” he said tightly, feeling a dull ache take hold in his chest.

“Come on, Chris. You know that your brothers love you and only want you to be happy,” Shea

replied wearily.

“I just...I’m not ready, okay? Let’s not argue about it. I’m tired and want to go to bed.”
“Fine,” Shea huffed. “Help me up, will ya?”
Christian stood and helped Shea up off the couch. Shea grunted and winced as he straightened.

He then slipped his good arm around Christian’s waist, tilted his head back and puckered up.
Christian smirked and leaned down, giving Shea a soft kiss on the lips. He then gave Christian’s ass
a squeeze before moving out of the embrace and starting for the stairs. Christian watched him go.
Fuck, he hoped this relationship worked out; he didn’t think he could live with not being friends with
Shea anymore - not seeing his face just about every day, not hearing his voice, or having him play
jokes on him. He wouldn’t be able to take it; he’d rather die than not have Shea in his life.

~Chapter 4~

Sebastian pulled up to Christian’s house. He was just stopping over on his way to work because

he is missing a box of gun parts, and he thought that maybe he left them in Christian’s garage,
possibly forgetting to grab it when he moved his shit out. Sebastian walked up the walkway to the
front door, where he knocked twice then used his key.

Sebastian opened the door just as Shea was coming down the steps. Shea saw him and froze, his

eyes widening slightly.

“You...you stay the fuck away from me,” Shea hissed, his arm just in a sling now.
It’s been a little over a week since Shea got hurt and he seemed to be healing fairly quickly.

Christian had said that he wasn’t even taking his pain meds anymore. Sebastian grinned and shut the
door behind him.

“Hey, Shea, I won’t touch you, I swear.” Sebastian chuckled, holding his hands up as if showing

he was unarmed. “I just need to see if I left a box of gun parts in the garage.”

Shea relaxed slightly and nodded. “Christian’s out there right now actually.”
“Oh cool, alright, I’ll just go out the back door,” Sebastian said and started through the house.
Sebastian hopped down the two steps that led out the back door then strolled along the brick

paver walkway that led to the door on the side of the garage. Sebastian glanced through the window
to see Christian sitting in a chair, his back to the door, his guitar in his lap. He was swaying slightly
and his bare foot was tapping out a steady beat. Sebastian opened the garage door slowly so that
Christian didn’t hear him enter. He hasn’t heard his little brother play the guitar since he moved out
of their parents’ house. He kind of missed it.

What Sebastian didn’t expect was the incredible singing that went along with the strumming of

the guitar chords. Sebastian immediately recognized the song even though Christian was singing it a
bit slower and playing a guitar instead of a piano. It was No One by Alicia Keys. Sebastian was in
complete awe of his brother’s voice. He had no idea Christian had a voice like that. Christian sang,
not knowing Sebastian was standing behind him.

...You and me together, through the days and nights, I don’t worry cause, everything’s gonna

be alright, people keep talkin’, they can say what they like, but all I know is everything’s
gonna be alright, no one, no one, no oooone can get in the way of what I’m feelin’...

Un-fucking-believable! How could Christian not tell them that he could sing like that? Christian

sang the whole song and it was freaking beautiful. When he finished, he let out a heavy sigh, his
shoulders sagging. Sebastian wondered what has his little brother looking like he has the weight of
the world on his back.

Sebastian started clapping. Christian whirled around, almost falling out of his chair in the

process. His eyes got so big that Sebastian was afraid that they would pop out of his head; his mouth
worked but nothing came out and his face flushed fifty shades of red.

“Nice, shithead, real nice. Were you ever going to tell your family that you can sing like that?”

Sebastian snapped.

Sebastian moved forward. Christian stood, setting his guitar down so that it rested against the

chair that he had been sitting in. He took a couple of steps back as Sebastian advanced on him.

“Sebastian...I...” he stammered, holding his hands up to try to ward Sebastian off.
Sebastian gave him a bored look before grabbing one of his wrists and pulling him into a hug.

Christian stood stiff for a moment in his arms before he finally relaxed.

“You have an incredible voice, Chris, just incredible,” Sebastian murmured, patting the back of

his head.

“Really?” Christian croaked.
Sebastian released him only to grab his shoulders and look at him as if he was crazy. “Do you

really not know how good you are?”

Christian’s eyes dropped and he shrugged pitifully. Who was this guy? Sebastian has always

thought Christian was confident and self-assured. Now all of a sudden, he was doubting himself and
looking dejected. Sebastian gave him a shake.

“Hey, look at me,” Sebastian said, ducking his head slightly to catch his little brother’s eye.
Christian lifted his gaze and the raw emotion in them made Sebastian’s heart seize.
“I know that I can be an insensitive bastard sometimes, but right now I’m being completely

serious. I would not fuck with your head about something like this; you have a gift. Not only are you
an amazing artist, but now I find out that you sing like a freakin’ angel. You should not be hiding
yourself away like that; you should be sharing everything that you have to offer with everyone. You
are the only one out of the four of us who has any kind of real talent, and we want you to take
advantage of that. Shit, Christian, not everyone is a meathead like Henry, Quinn, and me.” Sebastian
finished with a smirk.

Christian choked out a little laugh.
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Sebastian asked quietly.
“I didn’t want you guys to try to make me sing in front of people. I have only sung in front of

Shea, and that is hard enough. I couldn’t handle being up on stage in front of a crowded room,”
Christian whispered.

Sebastian sighed heavily and hung his head. What kind of brothers were they if they made the

youngest of them feel like he had to hide things from them because he was afraid of what they would
do to him or how they would react? A bunch of assholes, that’s who.

“Shit, Chris. I’m sorry. None of us ever meant for you to feel that way. We would never make

you do anything you didn’t want to do,” Sebastian said sincerely.

“Like making me eat poisonous mushrooms from the yard?” Christian asked dryly.
Sebastian’s mouth dropped open. Dammit, he forgot about that.
“Or how about the time you guys made me shave my legs? Oh, oh, and that one time you made me

put a flaming bag of dog shit on the neighbor’s porch and the cops caught me and took me home to
mom and dad?” Christian said bitterly.

Sebastian bit back a laugh. “You didn’t have to do it.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You and Henry threatened to make me eat the dog shit if I didn’t

do it!” Christian said in disbelief.

“We wouldn’t have, though.” Sebastian chuckled.
“I was eight! How was I supposed to know that?” Christian shouted, giving Sebastian a shove.
Sebastian couldn’t hold back his laugh any longer. “I’m sorry!” He laughed.
“No you’re not,” Christian muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Okay, I’m not sorry for that because it was funny as fuck, but I am sorry that we made you feel

like you can’t trust us. We’re all adults now, Chris. We can’t make you do anything you don’t want
to do.”

Sebastian watched as Christian took a deep breath and nodded. Sebastian could tell that there

was something else bothering his little brother, but he didn’t want to push it. Christian has the
tendency to close up if pushed too hard, and Sebastian wanted him to sing again, so he kept his
mouth shut.

“Will you sing something else for me?” Sebastian asked.
Christian’s whole body locked up. “I don’t know if I can...” Christian wheezed.
“I’ll stand behind you like earlier, pretend I’m not here. Please? I would really like to hear you

sing again.” Sebastian pleaded.

Christian stared at him for a moment before finally giving him a single nod. Sebastian moved

back over to the door while Christian sat back down on the chair and brought his guitar back to his
lap. He started strumming the guitar and Sebastian again immediately recognized the song, because if
you didn’t know this song then something was wrong with you, it was Somewhere Over the
Rainbow. He really liked the way Christian sang it; it was his own version, a little more upbeat than
normal.

The vulnerability in Christian’s tone made Sebastian sad. Something was going on with his little

brother, something serious; he just had no idea what or how to get Christian to open up. He was
going to have to have a talk with Henry and Quinn to see if they could come up with something
together.

Shea was feeling better and better every day. He was finally out of his sling and doing perfectly

fine with taking care of himself. Those first couple of weeks had been hard; although, he did not
mind Christian giving him showers, those were always fun. The extent of their sex life was minimal
due to Shea’s injury. They were doing a lot of jerking off together, and Christian seemed to really
love giving him blowjobs. Shea was not complaining, they got better every time.

Now that Shea was pretty much fending for himself, even though he still had to take it somewhat

easy, he could probably move back into his house. He realized, though, that he didn’t want to. He
wanted to live with Christian, but he just had to make sure that Christian was okay with it. They have
been together for a little over a month, and it was really going well. Shea found that he didn’t miss
being with women like he thought that he might. He was getting plenty of pleasure and an easy-going
relationship from Christian. Why the hell would he want a complicated, overly emotional woman?
He didn’t. They got along great, always have, and Shea was falling hard for his best friend. He felt it
most when they kissed and gave each other little affectionate touches.

Shea found Christian in the kitchen eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles before work. Shea smiled

and shook his head, some things never change. That was Christian’s favorite cereal, always has
been, and he pretty much ate it every day. Shea went over and gave Christian a kiss on the forehead.

“Hey Chris, there is something I want to talk to you about,” he said as he went to grab a cup of

coffee.

Christian froze in the middle of bringing up a spoonful of cereal to his mouth. Shit, he probably

thought Shea was having second thoughts or something. Shea rushed to clarify.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise,” he said quickly.

Christian relaxed only slightly, but he put his spoon back in his bowl and pushed it away. “Okay,

what is it?” he asked tightly.

Shea poured his coffee, fixed it how he liked, then went to sit next to Christian. Christian looked

at him, the stoic look on his face told Shea that he was awaiting a killing blow. Shea smiled softly
and reached over to cup his face.

“Chris, I’m not breaking up with you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said gently and moved in

for a kiss.

“That is what I’m thinking,” Christian whispered against his lips.
“Well, stop. I’m perfectly happy with you and I’m not leaving,” Shea said, giving him one more

kiss before backing up. “In fact, that is what I want to talk to you about.”

Christian frowned in confusion. “Okay.”
“What do you think about me moving in permanently?”
Christian’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You would want to move in with me?”
Shea smiled. “Yes, I would. Is that okay?”
Christian’s response was for him to grab Shea’s face and kiss him hard. The kiss immediately

turned frantic and needy. Shea didn’t know how or when it happened, but he somehow found himself
on the kitchen table with Christian on top of him, their hands tearing off each other’s clothes. Soon
they were both naked, clothes strewn all over the chairs and floor. Shea muscled Christian off him
and shoved him into a chair. They were both panting hard as their eyes locked, Shea’s heart flipped
over at the intense desire swirling in them. Shea dropped to his knees in front of Christian and
pushed his knees apart. Christian sucked in a sharp breath when he realized what Shea planned to
do. This was going to be Shea’s first time sucking a dick. He wasn’t really sure what to do, but he
was confident that Christian would tell him if he was doing something wrong.

Shea wrapped his hand around Christian’s cock and started stroking slowly. A small drop of

pre-cum beaded at the tip so Shea leaned forward and licked it away. Christian bit out a curse and
shoved his hands into his hair. Shea figured that he would just do what he liked done to himself, so
he started off teasing Christian a little bit by flicking his tongue over the tip and licking a line down
his shaft. Christian’s hips jutted forward trying to get more.

Finally, when he felt that Christian couldn’t take anymore, he wrapped his mouth around the

swollen head of his boyfriend’s cock and sucked. Christian actually shouted, his hands coming down
to clutch Shea’s head. He probably wanted to grab his hair, but Shea’s was too short and there was
nothing to grab. Shea took as much of Christian into his mouth as he could before pulling back and
repeating. Christian moaned low and then gasped when Shea swirled this tongue around the head.

“Fuck, Shea...don’t stop.” Christian panted.
Shea rolled his eyes up to see what Christian was doing. He found him watching, his eyes heavy

lidded, his bottom lip between his teeth, and a rosy flush was creeping up his cheeks. Damn, he
looked sexy as hell.

“Stroke me, too.” Christian breathed.
So at Christian’s direction, Shea stroked his shaft while he sucked him. Christian’s head fell

back and his grip tightened on Shea’s head. Christian’s hips rocked in time with what Shea was
doing.

“Baby, if you don’t want me to come in your mouth, you need to move,” Christian rasped.
Shea knew how much he enjoyed coming in Christian’s mouth, so he wanted to do the same for

him. Shea tightened his grip slightly and tried to take Christian as far into his mouth as he could.
Christian’s abs bunched and he let out a guttural groan, his grip on Shea’s head tightening. Christian
came a moment later, his body jerking. Shea felt his hot come hit the back of his tongue and
followed his first instinct, which was to swallow. It didn’t taste as bad as he was expecting. Shea
only released Christian after he was completely finished and sagging in the chair.

Christian watched lazily as Shea kissed his way back up his body after the best blowjob he’s had

in years. He loved the way Shea’s goatee scraped along his skin. Shea didn’t really know what he
was doing, but it still felt amazing; knowing that it was Shea doing it, made it feel even better. Shea
kissed him on the lips then smiled.

“Did I do okay for my first time?” he asked wryly.
“I think you know the answer to that.” Christian grinned.
Shea smiled shyly and moved back. He looked like he was about to grab his clothes when

Christian caught his wrist. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“I was going to get dressed?”
“We’re not done yet,” Christian informed him as he stood.
Shea raised an eyebrow at him. “We’re not?”
“Uh, no, you didn’t come yet,” Christian said.
“Don’t you have to get to work?” Shea asked.
“I think I have time for you to fuck me,” Christian growled, pulling Shea into his arms and kissing

him soundly.

Shea tore his mouth away and stared at Christian, looking startled. “Did you just say you have

time for me to fuck you?”

Christian chuckled at the dumbfounded look on Shea’s face. “Yeah, is that alright with you?”
Shea gaped at him for a moment, his mouth worked but nothing came out. Finally, he said, “I

don’t want to hurt you.”

Christian shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Shea, you are not going to hurt me, this is not my

first go ‘round.”

“I...I...but...” Shea stammered.
Christian grabbed Shea’s face and kissed him softly before pulling back slightly. “I want your

cock in my ass, right now,” he growled.

Shea’s eyes widened before narrowing on him. “Who the fuck are you?” he whispered.
Christian gave him a shit-eatin’ grin. “I’m just a guy who hasn’t been fucked in a very long time

and I want it badly.”

Shea searched his eyes. “You like it rough?” he asked quietly.
Christian’s smile faded. “Yes.”
The next thing Christian knew, Shea spun him around and bent him over the kitchen table,

pressing a heavy hand down between his shoulder blades. Oh fuck yes! That was exactly what
Christian liked; being manhandled was a huge turn on for him. Since the lube was upstairs, Shea had
to use his spit to lube up. He felt Shea’s cock slide up and down his crack a few times before Shea

positioned himself to enter. Christian couldn’t fucking wait. He’s been dying for this ever since
realizing he was in love with Shea. Shea pushed forward, slowing making his way past the tight
muscles. Christian hissed at the invasion - it burned, but it was a good burn. Shea rocked, slowing
working his way in until he was fully sheathed.

“Oh, Jesus.” Shea choked.
Shea grabbed Christian’s hips as he slowly pulled back and pushed back in. The strangled cry

that came out of Shea was nothing that Christian had ever heard from him before, and he couldn’t
help but smile. Shea kept the pace slow but Christian wanted more, so he pushed up onto his hands
and pushed back against Shea, meeting his thrusts and forcing him to go faster. Shea gasped and
shoved Christian back down onto the table, holding him down by his shoulders.

“Fucker, you’re gonna make me come before I want to,” he growled.
Christian chuckled; loving that Shea was losing his cool.

Shea held onto his shoulders as he started slamming into him, hard and fast. Christian cried out

and gripped the edge of the table. Shea bent over him, wrapping one arm around his chest and the
other around his waist, biting the back of Christian’s shoulder, almost causing Christian to come
again. Shea moaned long and low as his thrusts became more erratic and frantic. Shea shifted
slightly and was now unknowingly hitting Christian’s prostate practically forcing him to come hard
and pulse around Shea’s cock.

“Holy fucking shit!” Shea bit out as he slammed into Christian twice more before coming with a

guttural shout through gritted teeth.

They both sagged onto the table, sweaty and panting. Shea draped over Christian’s back, his

forehead resting between his shoulder blades. Christian’s heart felt ready to explode, and he blurted
the words he had promised not to say again until he knew they would be returned.

“I love you, Shea.” He breathed, immediately wishing he could take it back. Shit, he was such an

ass.

Shea’s first instinct was to repeat the words back to Christian, to tell the man that he loved him,

too, but he hesitated. Was he in love with Christian? He knew that his feelings for his best friend
have changed, and he knew that he was falling for him. But was he completely in love with him? He
wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want to tell Christian he loved him, too, if he wasn’t absolutely certain of
how he felt.

Shea kissed Christian’s back, between his shoulder blades. “I...I can’t, not yet,” he whispered.
Christian pushed up, forcing Shea to back up. They both grunted as their bodies separated.
“It’s fine, Shea. I didn’t expect to hear it back,” Christian replied, his voice void of emotion.
Christian gathered up his clothes and headed out of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Shea called after him.
“I need a shower,” he muttered in response and ran up the stairs.
Shea heard the bathroom door slam shut. He closed his eyes and hung his head.

“Fuck,” Shea bit out and scrubbed a hand over his short hair.
Shea pulled his jeans back on and headed upstairs. He went to open the bathroom door but it was

locked for the first time ever. Motherfuckinggoddammit! They just had mind-blowing sex and now
it was ruined because of three little words.

“Chris? Hey, are you alright?” Shea asked after knocking a couple of times.
“Fine,” Christian croaked.
Shea sighed and dropped his forehead to the door. “Christian, please, let me in.”
“No,” Christian said then coughed hard.
Oh fuck me! Christian was in the bathroom having a panic attack and throwing up.
“Christian...” Shea pleaded. He hated that he was upset and suffering.
“Please Shea...just let me...be alone...” Christian said between coughing and gagging.
“Dammit, Chris. I can’t just leave you when you’re like this. You have to know that I do love

you, and I am falling for you. I just don’t want to say something that means so much to you unless I’m
absolutely certain that it is how I feel. But you have to know how much I care about you, Christian,
otherwise we wouldn’t be together, and we most definitely would not have just had sex.”

“I know you care about me, Shea. I just feel like a complete idiot for blurting that out like I did. I

set myself up to be let down. I know you’re not in love with me, and I shouldn’t have put you in that
position,” Christian said, his voice muffled by the door between them.

“Can you please open the door? I hate not seeing your face while we’re talking about something

like this,” Shea murmured.

“I’m going to hop in the shower. I’ll be down in a minute, okay?” was Christian’s reply.
Shea blew out a frustrated breath and raked a hand down his face. “Alright,” he answered, giving

Christian his obviously needed space.

~Chapter 5~

Christian didn’t talk much more to Shea before he left for work, not all that much he could say.

He loved Shea, he blurted it out after phenomenal sex, and Shea wasn’t able to say it back. Now
Christian was nursing his shattered heart. He felt bad for Shea because the guy didn’t know what to
do or how to fix it. He couldn’t, though. Nothing was going to fix what had happened, all they could
do was move on, and all Christian could do was pray that he never did it again.

He got home that night around 7:00 pm because he got caught talking to one of his students who

never shut the hell up. Christian really hadn’t been in the mood to chat, but he didn’t want to be rude
either. When he finally walked in the front door, the house was quiet and dark. Christian frowned.
This was the first time in over a month that Shea was not there when he got home.

Christian walked into the living room and flipped on the lamp. After turning on a few more

lights, he moved into the kitchen to get something to eat. He was absolutely starving. He really
wasn’t in the mood to cook anything, so he just popped the leftovers from last night into the
microwave.

Christian had just finished washing dishes when he heard the front door open. He dried his hands

and went to make sure that it was Shea. When he walked into the living room, Shea was setting a
suitcase by the stairs, the front door still open.

“Hey, wanna help me grab some of my stuff out of my truck?” asked Shea, eyebrow raised in

question.

Christian blinked stupidly at him. “Huh?”
Shea frowned. “I went by my house to grab some of my stuff. I’m moving in remember?”
Christian shook his head to clear it. Shit, he forgot all about that. “Oh, yeah, right...sorry, I’m still

kinda out of it,” he muttered and started for the door.

Shea looped an arm around his waist, preventing him from walking out the door. “Tell me we’re

okay, Chris,” he rasped, his brown eyes hopeful but uncertain.

Christian nodded. “We’re okay,” he said quietly.
“Promise?”
“I promise,” Christian replied sincerely and gave Shea a kiss.
Christian then helped Shea bring in some bags and boxes full of his stuff. Shea also told Christian

his plan for his house; he was going to sell it and some of the furniture, pay off some bills, and then
put the rest into savings, which will work out well since he won’t be working for a couple more
months. What savings he did have was slowly dwindling due to him being out of commission, so
selling the house will give him a chance to replenish his savings. As soon as the house sold, he will
contribute to Christian’s mortgage and utilities, along with putting money toward the grocery bill.
For the first time in years, Christian actually felt his hopes rising - this just might work out.

“Did you dickheads know that Christian could sing?” Sebastian asked as he sat on Henry’s back

patio with him and Quinn, drinking beer and relaxing.

“What do you mean he can sing?” asks Henry, cocking one eyebrow.

“I mean that he’s got a set of pipes and should be performing on stage,” Sebastian said seriously.
“No shit?” Quinn asked before sipping his beer.
Henry had called him a few nights ago asking Sebastian and him to come over so they could talk

about Christian behind his back. Quinn wasn’t really fond of the idea, but Henry said he had
something serious to talk about. So there they were, sitting in Henry’s back yard, drinking and talking
about their little brother.

“I’m telling ya, he’s incredible. I kinda snuck up on him and he didn’t know I was there the first

time, and then I got him to sing for me again...” Sebastian trailed off, shaking his head.

“Why didn’t he ever tell us?” Henry frowned.
“Because he thought we would make him perform in front of people.” Sebastian smirked.
Quinn chuckled, Christian was probably right. The three of them made him do all sorts of shit

when they were younger. Quinn could understand why Christian didn’t tell them. With his anxiety
issues, there was no way he could get up on a stage and sing in front of a large group.

Henry nodded. “Most likely.” He grinned.
“What did you want to talk about, Henry?” Quinn asked, curious as to what it was that he had

called them over.

Henry sighed. “Alright, I guess it was a couple of weeks ago when I went to Christian’s gallery

to pick out a painting for Claire. While I was there, I noticed a picture that Christian painted. It was
a painting of a nude man in bed, tangled in the sheets. The face was turned away, but I’m certain it
was Shea.”

Quinn’s eyebrows lifted. That was interesting.
“So what are you saying?” Sebastian asked slowly, his eyes narrowing.
Henry grimaced. “I don’t know. It just seemed odd to me. Have either of you ever thought that

Christian might be gay?”

Sebastian started sputtering and choking on his beer. “Wha...what? Why would you think that?”
Henry shrugged. “There have just been some things lately that point in that direction… like the

painting. And remember at your wedding when he was fixing Shea’s tie? There was something very
intimate about it.”

“You think that Christian and Shea are together?” Quinn asked curiously.
“I don’t know what to think.” Henry huffed. “I want to say yes, but I can’t see Shea being gay.

I’ve seen him with women before.”

“Maybe he’s bi,” Quinn pointed out. “Those two are always together.”
“Wait, hold on, don’t you think he would have told us if he was gay?” Sebastian asked.
“Like how he told us he can sing?” Quinn replied dryly.
“Point taken,” Sebastian muttered.
“Think about it. He’s never brought a girl around, and I mean never,” Henry said.
They all sat there in silence thinking about their younger brother. Quinn could see it - Christian

being gay, that is. Like Henry said, he has never brought a woman around the family, never even
talked about liking a woman even. Now that Quinn thought back on it, he guessed there were clues
throughout the years that could lead to Christian being gay. Quinn did catch him one time jerking off
to gay porn, but he was nineteen, and Quinn just chalked it up to being young and curious.

“Shea is moving in with him,” Quinn murmured.
Both Henry and Sebastian’s heads whipped around to look at him. “What? How do you know

that?” Sebastian asked.

“I talked to Christian yesterday; he called to see if Margot and I were interested in buying Shea’s

house. When I asked why Shea was moving in with him and selling his house, he said it was because
Shea was already having trouble affording the place. And now that he was out of work, it was nearly
impossible, so he was going to move in with Christian and sell his house.”

Henry scoffed. “That sounds like a load of shit to me.”
“I agree.” Quinn nodded.
“Would it bother either of you if Christian did turn out to be gay?” Sebastian asked quietly.
Henry rolled his eyes. “Of course not. What the hell do I care who he fucks? I just want him to be

happy. What does piss me off is that, if he is, he doesn’t trust us enough to tell us.”

Quinn sighed. “I can’t be mad at him for that; I mean, look how long it took me to tell you guys

about what happened to me? If Johnny had never shown up, you still might not have known.”

Sebastian grunted. “Fucking bastard, I still want to seriously hurt that guy.”
“Me, too,” Henry chimed in.
“Would you care, Sebastian?” Quinn asked, curious about his answer since he was the one who

brought it up.

“No, I agree with Henry. I just want him to be happy, and if that’s with a dude, then so be it.

Now, that being said, I hope like hell that if he is, he doesn’t make out with whomever he’s with in
front of me.” Sebastian shivered. “That’s kinda...too much for me.”

Quinn and Henry chuckled.
“You mean you wouldn’t want to see Christian and Shea sticking their tongues down each other’s

throats?” Henry teased.

Sebastian made a gagging noise. “No, stop it! And there is no way in hell that Shea is gay. I have

seen him with women many, many times,” he said adamantly.

“Like I said, maybe he is bi,” said Quinn then sipped his beer.
Sebastian shook his head. “I can’t see it. Shea is too...I don’t know...manly, maybe?”
“Are you saying that Christian is feminine?” Henry laughed.
“No!” Sebastian exclaimed. “Not feminine, but not as butch as the rest of us.”
Quinn shook his head. “You’re an idiot.”
Sebastian shot him a dirty look, making Quinn laugh. If Christian really was gay and hiding it

from them, Quinn felt bad for him. It could be the reason his anxiety was so bad. If he was constantly
hiding who he really was, no wonder he was so stressed out all of the time. It was rare that Quinn
would see Christian without a worried look on his face. Could that be what he was so worried about
all of the time? His brothers finding out that he’s gay?

“Okay, say that Christian is gay, should we ask him about it, or continue to wait for him to tell

us?” Sebastian asked.

“No, we can’t ask him about it. If he is, and he hasn’t told us, it’s for a reason. I say we just wait

it out and let him tell us when he’s ready,” Quinn said.

“Can we fuck with him at least?” Sebastian asked with an evil grin.
“Fuck with him how?” Henry asked, his own evil smirk growing.
“Ya know, just make comments here and there and see how he reacts. It might give us a better

idea if he’s actually gay or not.”

“Oh, god. You’re going to make him have a nervous breakdown.” Quinn groaned.

Henry and Sebastian laughed. Poor Christian, he was so in for it.

Shea and Christian were at Shea’s house to finish packing up all of Shea’s shit. Shea was

packing up some of his things in the living room while Christian worked in his kitchen. He had just
stood up and rolled his right shoulder because it was aching a bit when the doorbell rang. Shea
frowned. Who the hell could that be? Christian came into the living room just as Shea started for the
door.

When he opened it, he wished that he hadn’t. Standing on the step was Tara, the girl he had been

seeing before starting his relationship with Christian. She immediately jumped him, her arms went
around his neck and her mouth covered his. Shea was so shocked at first that he did nothing. Then he
heard Christian’s “What the fuck?” from behind him, making him spring into action. He grabbed
Tara’s hips and pushed her back, forcing her to let him go. Tara was a cute girl; she had short dark
hair, glasses, and a bangin’ body that always turned him on.

“Baby, where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for over a month now,” Tara

whined, running her hands over Shea’s chest.

Dread pitted in Shea’s stomach. He snuck a glance back at Christian. Oh, holy fucking shitballs,

he was fucking livid. His nostrils flared, his jaw was bulging, and his hands were curled into fists at
his sides. Jesus, Shea was in a boatload of shit right now.

“I…uh…well, Tara…” Shea stuttered, not exactly sure how to tell her what was going on.
Shea looked down at her, she looked really good in a tank top and yoga pants. Were her boobs

bigger? Shea shook that thought away, didn’t matter, he was with Christian now and he wouldn’t be
sleeping with her ever again.

“I missed you, Shea. Why haven’t you called me?” Tara asked, still running her hands over his

chest and now his shoulders.

Shea grabbed her hands and removed them from his body. “Listen, Tara. I haven’t called for a

reason. I’m with someone else and we’re exclusive.”

Tara laughed. “Funny, Shea. There is no way you stopped calling me to be with some other bitch.

I gave you everything you needed; you told me you were completely satisfied.”

“This relationship isn’t just about sex, Tara, there are other things involved,” Shea tried to

explain.

“Like what?” Tara demanded, shoving her hands on her hips.
“Dammit, I don’t have to explain myself to you. We weren’t a couple, you were someone I called

for a good fuck, but that was it. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Shea sighed.

Tara flinched as if slapped. “How dare you!” Tara said, infuriated. “You were more than just a

good fuck to me! I thought we were heading toward starting a real relationship, but you stopped
calling me. I thought something happened to you! God, my friends were right about you, you’re
nothing but an asshole!” Tara yelled, giving him a shove. “Who is she? Huh?”

“That’s none of your business,” Shea said evenly.
“No, Shea, go ahead and tell her.” Christian snarled from where he stood in the living room

behind him.

Shea closed his eyes and cursed himself, knowing he was in serious trouble. He opened his eyes

and looked at Tara who was frowning at Christian. “Tara, this is my boyfriend, Christian.”

Tara’s mouth dropped open and her eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Excuse me? Did you

just say boyfriend?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes, Christian is my boyfriend.”
“Wha…how? I thought you were straight!” Tara exclaimed.
“I was…I mean…I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” Shea struggled, not knowing what to say.

Because honestly, he was starting to think he had been gay, or at least bi, for a long time, and never
had the balls to acknowledge it.

“This is unbelievable! Do you know how many guys have asked me out that I turned down

because I thought we were going to be together? And now you’re telling me you’re a fucking
faggot!”

The air in Shea’s lungs exploded out of him as if he had just been punched in the gut. She just

called him a ‘faggot.’ The hurt was immediate and sharp. Never in all of his life had one word cut
him so deeply. He swung around to look at Christian, who was standing there, arms crossed over his
chest, face passive. Shea had no idea how many times Christian had been called something like that,
but he almost looked as if it was nothing new to him, and that broke his heart. Shea turned back to
Tara.

“I can’t believe you just called me that.” Shea breathed.
“Well you better get used to it because you’ll be getting called that a lot once you start telling

people,” Tara snapped.

“How about you just leave now?” Shea snarled and opened the door for her.
“My pleasure.” She snorted and stomped out of the house.
Shea shut the door and leaned his forehead against it. He couldn’t believe how much being called

a ‘faggot’ bothered him. He never thought of it as that hurtful of a word before because it never
applied to him, but now…it hurt like a bitch. He could understand a little better why Christian was
so secretive about his sexuality. No one wanted to be called horrible names, especially to their
faces.

Shea sighed, dreading what was coming next. He straightened up and turned to face Christian. He

looked absolutely livid, not that Shea could blame him. He should have told Tara over a month ago
when he first started dating Christian, but he bitched out and decided to just stop calling her in hopes
that she would get the hint.

“Chris…” Shea started, but Christian cut him off.
“Why didn’t you tell her? Were you keeping her around as backup for when you decide that you

actually are straight?” Christian snapped.

“What? No!”
“Whatever, I knew that you were only with me so that you wouldn’t lose me as a friend. I’m not

surprised. I knew that there was no way you would actually want to be with me,” Christian muttered
and waved a dismissive hand as he walked back into the kitchen.

Shea stormed after him. “Now wait one fucking minute. That is not true!”
“Stop fucking lying to me!” Christian shouted as he spun around to glare at Shea. “You’re not

gay! You never will be! So just stop…stop pretending that you are enjoying this relationship!”

“Pretending?” Shea choked. “Christian! You know me better than that! How could you think for

one second that I’ve been pretending? You mean everything to me and there has not been one moment
of being with you that I have pretended anything!”

Christian shook his head. “I’m not doing this with you anymore; it’s just not possible for you to

love me the way that I love you.”

Christian tried to push past Shea to leave, but Shea grabbed him.
“You are not leaving. We’re not done talking about this,” Shea growled as Christian struggled to

get away.

“Just because you are able to fuck me, doesn’t make you gay. Plenty of straight men can fuck

another dude just to get off,” Christian hissed.

“Christian, this isn’t about that, this is about us being together…stop fighting me!”
“Let me go, then! My heart is already shattering and I don’t want to stay here with you!” Christian

choked and tore himself out of Shea’s grasp.

He almost made it to the door before Shea caught up with him. He slammed into him, pinning him

face first against the door. Both of them were panting and Christian was still trying to get away, but
Shea held fast.

“Chris, listen to me, you need to calm down,” Shea said calmly.
Christian pressed his face against the door. “Why are you doing this to me? Just let me go,” he

said, his voice pained.

Shea’s heart ached for him, but he wasn’t going to let him run and possibly ruin what they have

together.

“Baby, I am never letting you go. I can’t. I may not know exactly how to label myself, and I really

don’t give a fuck. But I do know one thing, and that is that I am in love with you, Christian. And we
have something special together that I refuse to let you walk away from,” Shea said softly against
Christian’s ear.

“You’re just saying that so I won’t break up with you,” Christian rasped.
“No, dammit! I’m saying it because I fucking mean it.”
“I don’t believe you,” Christian whispered.
Shea turned him around, grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and slammed his back up against the door.

Christian’s brown eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. The hurt and betrayal in them tore at
Shea’s heart.

“Get off of me, Shea, I mean it,” Christian said, his voice hollow. He pushed Shea hard, forcing

him to back away and opened the door. “We’re done,” he snapped before walking out and slamming
the door behind him.

Shea blinked at the door. What the fuck just happened? A sharp ache took root in his chest and he

swore he could literally feel his heart breaking. Christian just broke up with him. Holy fucking shit!
It was over, their relationship and friendship was over. That wasn’t possible! Shea was in love with
him! He lunged for the door and tore it open but Christian was already gone. No! This couldn’t be
happening!

Shea stared up at the ceiling as he lay on his sheet-less mattress in his bedroom later that night.

He had tried to call Christian multiple times but his phone was off. He didn’t want to go over there
just yet, Christian needed some space and time to calm down. He had worked himself up over
nothing - at least, Shea thought it was nothing - but, obviously, Christian thought it was a huge thing.
There was no way in hell Shea was going to let Christian go without a fight. Right?

Was he really positive that this relationship was what he wanted? Could he really go on without

being with a woman ever again? He was completely satisfied with Christian, he hadn’t even once

thought about a woman while he was with Christian. Maybe he should go be with one just to make
sure. No, no, that was a bad idea. Christian would never forgive him if he went out and slept with a
chick right after they broke up, that was just a dumb idea. Plus, he wasn’t sure if he could do a
woman now, not after being with Christian.

What he did know was that he needed Christian in his life. But could Christian be right? Was he

in this relationship for the wrong reasons? Yes, he didn’t want to lose Christian as a friend, but they
had been having fun being together over the last couple of months. He could picture himself with
Christian long term and he was honestly in love with him. Shea knew Christian well enough to know
that he had left because he always thought that the relationship was doomed, and he was going to end
it before it went on any longer. Well, guess fucking what? This was not the end, and Shea would be
damned if he let Christian throw away what they had together because he was scared.

Shea couldn’t sleep at all that night. He was useless at work the next day, too. He was so

exhausted from not sleeping and completely distracted by thoughts of Christian and what he was
going to do if he wouldn’t take him back. The possibility that Christian wouldn’t take him back
scared the ever-living shit out of him. Shea didn’t know what he would do without Christian in his
life.

After work, Shea dragged his ass home and collapsed on his couch. Fuck taking a shower, he

didn’t have the energy. His heart hurt so badly. This was the longest he’s gone without talking to
Christian in…shit…years. He’s never had a break up effect him so horribly, but this wasn’t just
anyone who broke up with him, this was Christian - his best friend, the man he loved with his whole
heart and soul.

Shea closed his eyes as he lay on his couch. Maybe he should call Quinn, tell him what’s going

on, and see if he could help? Shea covered his face with his hands. Shit! No, he couldn’t do that to
Christian. He couldn’t tell Quinn that they were together. Christian would hate him for that. He was
going to have to deal with this on his own.

Shea gave Christian a few days before he went over there. Shea had tried again to call but

Christian was not answering his phone. Shea walked up the steps to Christian’s front door and tried
to use his key, but it wouldn’t work. Christian changed the fucking locks! Jesus, he wasn’t fucking
around when he said that they were done. Shea pounded his fist on the door, knowing Christian was
home because his car was in the driveway.

“Chris! Open the damn door!” Shea called and pounded on the door some more.
A minute later, the door opened. Shea sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Christian’s

disheveled appearance. His hair was a mess, he had about three days worth of stubble on his face,
his eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and he was in a ratty T-shirt and pajama pants. Shea has never
ever seen Christian look like this, he was obviously suffering as much as he was.

“Your shit is in the garage,” Christian muttered and went to shut the door, but Shea stopped it

with his shoulder.

“Whoa, hold the fuck up, I’m not here to get my stuff, I’m here to talk,” Shea said firmly.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Christian snarled and tried to push the door closed, but Shea held it

open.

“I love you, Christian. I don’t want to be without you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell Tara, I chickened

out, okay, I’m sorry,” Shea said.

“You’re nothing but a liar and I don’t believe anything you say,” Christian snapped. “Now, go

away.”

“Dammit, Christian! You’ve known me for over twenty years! You know I am not a liar!” Shea

yelled and shoved at the door, making Christian stumble back. Shea walked into the house and
slammed the door shut behind him.

“You just want me to suck your dick and let you fuck me. I don’t mean anything else to you, you

don’t love me, you were just trying to keep me around so you wouldn’t lose me as a friend.”
Christian sneered.

“Of course I don’t want to lose you as a friend, I fucking love you! I love you and I’m in love

with you. What the hell can I do to make you understand that? What can I do to prove to you that I am
in love with you? Do you need to fuck me? Will that make you believe me? Well let’s fucking do it,”
Shea snapped, holding his arms out.

Christian sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes widened. “You’re not serious.”
“I am very serious. I want you to make love to me right now. I want to prove to you that I am in

this relationship because I love you, and I will do anything to be your boyfriend again,” Shea said,
hoping Christian heard the certainty in his voice.

Christian swallowed hard. “Shea…I swear to god, if you are fucking with me, I will never speak

to you again.”

“Dammit, Christian! Do I look like I’m fucking with you?” Shea snapped. What the hell more

could he do to get through to this guy?

Shea grabbed Christian’s scruffy face and kissed him like never before. He poured all of the love

and adoration that he felt for his best friend into the kiss. His arms snaked around Christian’s neck,
and his fingers tangled into the hair at the back of his head. Christian moaned and wrapped his arms
around Shea’s waist, crushing him to him. Their tongues intertwined and their teeth bumped. Shea
could feel Christian’s heart pounding against his chest.

They stumbled up the stairs still wrapped in each other’s arms. After bumping into a couple of

walls, they found their way into Christian’s bedroom, where they fell into his bed. Shea landed on
his back with Christian falling on top of him. Christian immediately pushed to his knees and started
tearing off Shea’s clothes. Within seconds, Shea was naked and screaming as Christian deep
throated him. Holy fucking shit!

Christian sucked him hard and fast, making him come within minutes. While he lay there sucking

in air, Christian undressed and grabbed the lube. Shea watched him as he opened the lube and
poured some in his hand. He smoothed it over himself as he put the bottle on the nightstand.
Christian slowly stroked himself, while standing next to the bed, looking down at Shea through
heavy lidded eyes.

“I’m giving you one last chance here, Shea. If you don’t want this, say so now,” Christian

murmured quietly.

Shea shook his head. “I want it. I want you…all of you, always.”
Christian closed his eyes and swallowed hard as he nodded. He then climbed onto the mattress

and between Shea’s legs. Shea’s heart was ready to pound out of his chest. He was actually
seriously afraid of the pain, but he was doing his best to hide it. What if it hurt so badly that he
couldn’t take it? Would Christian leave him because of that? God, he hoped not.

Christian leaned over him, planting one hand next to his head. “I’m going to use my fingers first

to open you up a bit,” he whispered.

Shea’s gut clenched and all he could do was nod. He has never had anything up his ass before,

not even a doctor’s finger. Christian spread his legs farther apart and lifted one up higher. Shea just
let him do what he wanted, this was all for him. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep
breaths. Next, he felt Christian’s lubed finger run around his hole before he slowly pushed inside.
Shea sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed the edge of the mattress behind his head.

“You okay?” Christian asked quietly as he started to move his finger in and out.
“It’s weird,” Shea gasped.
Christian chuckled low, stirring some of Shea’s desire back to life. The longer Christian pumped

his finger the better it started to feel. He even added a second finger into the mix, and to Shea’s
surprise, it wasn’t all that bad. Christian twisted his fingers and touched something inside that had
Shea almost bowing off the bed in pleasure.

“Holy fuck! What was that?” Shea choked.
“Your prostate.” He snickered.
“That was crazy.” Shea breathed.
“I think you’re ready for more,” Christian growled and removed his fingers.
Christian bent and captured Shea’s lips. As they kissed, Christian positioned his cock where his

fingers had just been. Shea’s heart leapt into his throat. Oh god, oh god, oh god… Christian pressed
forward, pushing past the tight muscles trying to keep him out. Christian dragged his mouth over to
Shea’s ear.

“Breathe, baby,” he whispered.
Shea hadn’t even realized he was holding his breath until he said that. Shea let out a breath and

Christian pushed in farther. The sensation of being filled was almost too much to bear. Shea
squeezed his eyes closed and bared his teeth, fighting off the urge to tell Christian to stop. He had to
do this. He needed Christian to understand how much he loved him.

Christian finally pressed all the way in, pulling a strangled cry from Shea. It was an odd feeling,

not painful really, just full. Christian lifted his face to look down at him. His hands cupped the sides
of Shea’s head as he leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips. Their eyes locked as Christian
started to move, pulling back slowly before pushing forward a bit faster than the first time. Shea
gasped as pleasure burst through him. He clutched the back of Christian’s shoulders as he picked up
the pace.

Shea had no idea that it could feel this good. It was nothing he had ever experienced before and it

blew his mind. His eyes fluttered closed and his mouth parted as a moan escaped him. He dug his
head back into the pillow and arched his body into Christian, who moaned, also.

Christian reared up, using one hand to support himself. His other hand wrapped around Shea’s

shaft and started pumping. Shea was surprised to find that he was hard again, and now with Christian
stroking him along with fucking him, he thought he was going to shatter into a million pieces in
ecstasy.

“Christian! Oh Jesus! Don’t stop!” Shea cried, clawing at the mattress.
Christian had to grab Shea’s hip when he bowed up off the bed as he exploded. He came so hard

that he swore he blacked out for a moment. He could feel himself pulsing around Christian’s cock.
Christian let out a guttural shout as he came, thrusting hard into Shea and staying there while he
emptied himself into him. Shea couldn’t move, he was utterly drained and could not move a fucking
muscle. Christian pulled out causing Shea to whimper at the loss. Christian’s hand smoothed over

his short hair and he could feel his breath on his lips, so he knew Christian was close by.

“I am in love with you, Christian. I can’t live without you. Please believe me,” Shea whispered.
“I’m sorry I freaked out. I’m just so afraid you’re not in this for the right reasons,” Christian

replied.

“Well I am and I am in love with you, Chris. Please take me back.”
Christian nodded. “I love you, Shea,” Christian murmured before kissing him languidly.
“That was incredible.” Shea breathed when their kiss ended.
“Yes it was.” Christian chuckled.
Shea cracked his eyes to find Christian smirking down at him. Yeah, he was definitely in love

with this guy. Shea grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

“Now, go get me a rag or something. I’m a fucking mess.” Shea grunted.
Christian laughed, rolled off Shea, and climbed to his feet. Shea watched his boyfriend’s naked

ass flex and move as he left the room. Yes, Shea was absolutely in love with Christian, there was no
doubt in his mind after what just happened that this was whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life
with. No more women for him, he didn’t want them anymore. He only wanted Christian, who now
held his heart and soul.

~Chapter 6~

Shea was finally back to work after a long, boring two and a half months. He missed working,

hated sitting around on his ass all day. He’s only been back a week and he was already super busy.
He went home exhausted every night. So exhausted that he basically would come home, take a
shower, and fall into bed by 8:00 pm. His body was no longer used to being beaten to shit every day,
and it was going to take him some time to get back into a groove.

It was a Thursday, and Shea and his guys actually finished a job early. Shea rushed home to take

a shower so that he could go over to Christian’s studio and surprise him. He dressed in his usual
worn jeans and a vintage T-shirt before heading over to Christian’s downtown studio.

When he got there, he found a parking spot and walked down the block to the studio. He

ascended the few stairs and opened the door. Christian was standing up on a little dais in front of an
easel holding a canvas. He explained what he was doing as he was painting. The class behind him
was a mixture of men and women of various ages.

Shea weaved his way through the tables and made his way silently up behind Christian, whose

ass was looking mighty fine in a pair of dark jeans. He was also wearing a light green button down
shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His shirt was tucked in, of course. Shea caught a few
curious glances from the students, but he just ignored them. Shea slowly reached forward with both
hands and grabbed Christian’s sides where Shea knew he was seriously ticklish.

Christian cried out in surprise as he jumped almost a foot in the air. His paintbrush made a very

dark blue, very out of place streak across the canvas when he jumped. Shea slapped a hand over his
mouth as Christian whirled around to glare at him. The students were giggling quietly.

“I didn’t know you were going to do that! I swear!” Shea exclaimed, trying to hold back his

laughter.

“You scared the crap out of me! What did you think was going to happen?” Christian said in

exasperation, tossing his brush on the ledge of the easel.

“Well, I expected you to jump, not mess up your painting.” Shea winced.
Christian huffed and stepped off the dais. “Everyone, continue working on that part while I get

another canvas.”

Shea followed Christian into the supply closet and closed the door slightly. As Christian bent

over to sort through a variety of canvases stacked on the floor, Shea sidled up behind him. Shea
smoothed his hands over Christian’s ass to grab hold of his hips so that he could pull Christian back
against his groin.

“I really like this position,” Shea growled.
Christian straightened up, canvas in hand, and glanced over his shoulder, giving Shea a wry

smile. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Shea nuzzled the side of Christian’s face. “I’ve missed you this past week. I got the job done

early, so I thought I could take you out for dinner and a movie,” he murmured, kissing Christian’s
smooth cheek.

“Mmm, that sounds like a great idea.” Christian sighed contently and turned in Shea’s arms. “I’ll

be done in about half an hour.”

Shea kissed him softly on the lips. “Okay, good. I can’t wait to have you all to myself.”
Christian growled low in his throat, sending a shiver of pleasure down Shea’s spine. “Soon, my

love, soon,” Christian whispered before nipping at Shea’s bottom lip.

Christian then left him standing in the supply closet, horny as shit. Shea shifted his semi-hard

cock in his jeans and tugged his T-shirt down so it wasn’t noticeable, before leaving the closet. Shea
went and sat behind the little desk where Christian did his business transactions and watched him
teach. Shea couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend. He was such an amazing teacher – patient,
thorough, and took the time to go around to help each person individually. He would make a great
father some day. Shea felt his smile slip slightly; he had no idea if Christian even wanted children,
they have yet to talk about that.

After Christian’s class dispersed, Shea helped him clean up so that they could get out of there

faster. They then went to a quiet little Italian restaurant and had a delicious dinner. Finally, after
Shea paid for dinner, they were on their way to the movies.

Shea pulled into the movie theater parking lot and pulled his truck into one of the spaces. They

both got out and headed towards the doors. Shea reached over and grabbed Christian’s hand, lacing
their fingers together. Christian turned a surprised and wary glance at their hands before looking at
Shea.

“What are you doing?” Christian asked and tried to take his hand back.
Shea frowned. “I’m holding my boyfriend’s hand.”
“But…but what if we see someone we know?” Christian hissed.
Shea shook his head in disgust. “You gave me shit about not telling Tara, but you don’t even want

to be seen in public with me?”

“Shea, I haven’t told my family yet. I can’t be seen getting touchy feely with you and have word

get back to them,” Christian said in irritation, tugging on his hand again.

“I don’t give a shit. You need to tell them, anyway, and stop trying to pull away. I’m not going to

let go,” Shea snapped in return.

Christian made a noise of annoyance but stopped trying to pull away. They walked into the

theater and got in line behind a small group of older women. One of them glanced back at them. She
glanced at their faces, then down at their hands. Her eyes flew back up to their faces and the look on
her face changed from passive to horrified and disgusted. Shea ground his teeth together. Christian
let out a low groan and dragged his free hand down his face.

Shea couldn’t believe what the lady did next - she nudged her friend and motioned with her head

to Shea and Christian, then made the universal hand sign to tell her friend that they were gay. Well,
Shea freaking lost it. Who the fuck does that shit in front of people?

“You got a fucking problem, lady?” Shea barked.
The group turned around to look at him, startled. Shea only had eyes for the one who made the

gesture. Christian’s grip tightened on his hand.

“Shea, let it go,” he whispered.
“No! That was the rudest thing I’ve ever seen! First, I get called a faggot to my face, and now I

got some fucking stranger making frou-frou hand signals to let her friends know that we’re gay! So
back to my first question, you got a fucking problem, lady?”

The lady gasped and put her hand to her throat. “Don’t you know how to respect your elders?”
“Why should I respect you? You obviously don’t respect me. You see this?” Shea pulled up

Christian’s and his intertwined hands and stuck up his middle finger. “You can shove this right up
your ass.”

“Jesus Christ.” Christian breathed and hung his head.
The next thing Shea knew, Christian and he were being escorted back to their car by security.

Shea was so fucking furious, though, he didn’t even care. He couldn’t have sat through a movie after
that. The two of them got into Shea’s truck, Shea slamming his door shut, and clutching the steering
wheel.

“How did that not bother you?” Shea bit out.
Christian sighed heavily. “I never said it didn’t bother me, I just chose to ignore it.”
“How do you ignore shit like that?”
Christian sent Shea a sad smile. “I’ve seen and heard worse than that directed at me for most of

my life. I’d be a hermit if I let it get to me. I would never go out because it happens almost every
day. No matter where I go, someone is always looking at me funny, or whispering to friends thinking
I can’t hear them, saying things like I wonder if he’s gay or he dresses too nice to be straight. It’s
never ending, Shea, and if you are going to be a part of this life, of my life, then you are going to
have to learn to live with the hate.”

Shea closed his eyes and dropped his head to the steering wheel. “It fucking hurts, man.”
“I know. After a while you sort of become numb to it, at least I did anyway,” Christian

murmured.

“I’m sorry I ruined our date,” Shea whispered.
“It’s wasn’t all that bad. That lady’s face when you told her to shove it up her ass was

priceless.” Christian chuckled.

Shea kept his head on the steering wheel but turned it to look over at Christian. “It was, wasn’t

it.” He smirked.

Christian nodded and smiled. Reaching over, he placed a hand on Shea’s thigh.
“How about we go home and make our own movie?” Christian purred, squeezing Shea’s thigh.
Shea sucked in a sharp breath as he straightened up and stared at Christian in shock. “Are you

fucking serious?”

Christian smiled, but it was a naughty, seductive smile that had Shea’s cock throbbing in his

pants. “You’ll just have to find out, now won’t you?”

Shea swallowed hard. “You are going to make me come in my jeans, Chris.”
“Then I suggest you hurry the hell up and get us home,” Christian murmured.
“Hell-to-the-fucking-yeah!” Shea whooped and peeled out of the parking lot with a laughing

Christian clinging to the “Oh shit” handle.

Christian laid on his side, half of his body covering Shea’s, his head on Shea’s shoulder, after a

fan-fucking-tastic couple of rounds of sex. He felt content and oh so happy being in the arms of the
one man that he loved above all else. He still couldn’t believe that Shea was his boyfriend. It was a
dream come true, something he never expected to happen in a million years. But here they were,
bodies tangled together, naked and sweaty, and Shea was in love with him.

“Pinch me,” Christian whispered.
“What? Why?” Shea chuckled.

“Cause I swear I’m dreaming. This can’t really be happening.” He breathed, spreading his hand

out over Shea’s heart to feel it beat…thump-thump…thump-thump.

“Oh, it’s fucking real, baby,” Shea assured him and pinched his ass.
Christian squirmed and chuckled. “Alright, it’s real!”
Shea turned his head and kissed Christian on the forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I’m so glad that I kissed you at Sebastian’s wedding.” Shea chuckled.
Christian laughed. “Yeah, me, too.”
“It wasn’t the first time I’ve thought about kissing you, you know,” Shea admitted quietly.
“Is that so?” Christian smirked.
“I’ve been attracted to you for years but was always too much of a bitch to do anything about it. I

tried to tell myself that it was only because we were so close; I mean I was straight, right? But
now…now I know that I was never straight - most likely bi, but definitely not straight.”

Christian smiled, loving everything about what Shea just admitted and climbed on top of him

while kissing him. Shea moaned and slipped his hands up Christian’s thighs and around to cup his
ass. “You’re insatiable, you know that?” Shea murmured against Christian’s lips.

“It’s you that I can’t get enough of.” Christian breathed, kissing Shea more fervently.
Shea hardened under him as they kissed and touched. Christian reached back and lifted Shea’s

cock so that he could lower himself onto it. He didn’t need any more lube, they were both still
slicked up from the two previous rounds. Shea gasped and gripped Christian’s hips as he started to
move above him. This was their first time in this position; it had always been one of Christian’s
favorites, though.

Christian pushed up and braced his hands on Shea’s chest. Shea was digging his head back into

his pillow as he panted and trembled under Christian. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth
bore tightly.

“Oh my fucking god…you feel so fucking good…” Shea panted, his fingers digging into

Christian’s hips so hard that he was probably going to leave bruises.

Christian removed one hand from Shea’s chest so he could jerk himself off while he rode Shea.

Shea must have wondered where Christian’s hand went because he opened his eyes and lifted his
head to look. Christian moaned, loving the fact that Shea was watching him.

“Lean back,” Shea commanded, bringing a hand up to push on Christian’s chest.
Christian did as Shea asked, leaning back and putting his hand on Shea’s thighs for support

before continuing to ride him.

“Oh, fuck yes,” Shea growled.
He wrapped his hand around Christian’s shaft, which was jutting straight up and standing proud

now that he was leaning back, and started to stroke him. Christian gasped at how good Shea’s
calloused hand felt stroking him and let his head fall back on his shoulders.

“Jesus, do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?” Shea rasped.
Christian couldn’t respond. His body was on fire and the only thing that came out of his mouth

was a strangled cry as he came. Shea followed with a guttural shout. Christian collapsed forward
onto Shea, tucked his face in his neck, while Shea wrapped his arms around him, and stroked the
back of his head.

“Damn, I love you.” Shea panted.

“I love you, too.”

~Chapter 7~

Christian sat in the passenger seat of Shea’s truck as they drove to Henry’s house for Michael

and Adalyn’s first birthday party. Henry was throwing a big pool party/barbeque with their family,
Claire’s father, and Raelynn’s family. Christian and Shea were going on their fifth month together
and everything was going great. Shea was completely moved into Christian’s house. He was able to
sell his house fairly quickly since it was in such good shape and in a desirable area. And no one -
other than Margot - knew that Christian was gay, or had any idea that he and Shea were more than
best friends. If they did, no one let on that they knew.

“Ya know, today would be a good day to tell everyone about us,” Shea murmured as if he knew

what Christian was thinking.

“No, no it wouldn’t.” Christian snorted.
Shea frowned at him. “Why not? Everyone will be there, and you will only have to say it once.”
“They don’t even know that I’m gay. I can’t just come out with, “Hey, guess what? Shea’s my

boyfriend,” Christian said, incredulously.

Shea scrubbed an aggravated hand over his short hair. “I just don’t understand why you don’t tell

them.” He grunted.

“Because, Shea, if they decide that they can’t handle me being gay and don’t want me in their

lives, that will be the end of me,” Christian said quietly.

He would not be able to live without his brothers and family, he knew that for a fact.
“Do you even know your own brothers? They will not disown you for being gay, Christian,”

Shea argued.

“I’m just not ready, alright?” Christian sighed.
“You always say that. Are you ever going to be ready?” Shea asked with a disgusted snort.
“Dammit, Shea! You don’t understand! You have nothing to lose! Your family is gone!” Christian

snapped, wishing immediately that he could take it back.

Shea’s face hardened and he sent Christian a cold glare. “Your family is my family, so I would

lose them, too, if they decided to disown you - which they won’t - so I have plenty to lose,” he
replied bitterly.

Christian nodded in agreement, acknowledging Shea was right about him being an honorary

Beck.

“You’re right, but today is not the day,” Christian said tightly as they pulled up Henry’s long

driveway.

Shea parked and Christian moved to open the door, but Shea grabbed his arm. Christian turned to

look at him, his heart dropping into his stomach when he saw the sad look on Shea’s face.

“I’m giving you a week. If you don’t tell them by the end of next week, then I’m done. I will pack

up my shit and leave,” Shea said, his voice low and serious.

Christian’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t mean that,” he hissed.
Shea let him go. “Try me. I love you, Chris, but I’m not willing to live in hiding my whole life.”
“You can’t be serious.” Christian frowned.
Shea shook his head. “I don’t want to hide anymore. This party is going to suck for me because I

have to keep my distance from you, act like I’m not in love with you. It’s fucking ridiculous,
Christian. We’ve been together for five months, and I plan to spend forever with you, so your family

is going to have to find out sooner or later.”

Christian felt his panic rise. Shea was serious. Not that he didn’t have a point, his family was

going to have to find out sooner or later, but why couldn’t it be later? Like maybe after he was dead
and in the ground?

“Please, Shea, not today,” Christian pleaded softly.
“One week, Christian,” he muttered then got out of the truck.
Christian watched the love of his life walk up the front steps of Henry’s house and disappear

through the door. What the fuck was he going to do? How could Shea make him choose like this?
How could he be so sure that Christian’s family would be okay with it? There were so many
questions and emotions running through Christian’s head. Shea was right about one thing, though -
this party was going to suck.

Shea prayed to god that Christian didn’t call his bluff, because honestly, he didn’t think he could

leave him if he decided not to tell his family that he was gay. Shea only wanted to light a fire under
his ass and he hoped it didn’t backfire on him. Shea was thinking that Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn
already suspected Christian was gay; they had made a few odd comments that last few times that
he’d seen them.

Shea left Christian in the truck, stunned, and went into Henry’s very large, very gorgeous house.

No one seemed to be inside, so he walked through and went out the back door.

“Shea!” a few people called, happily.
Quinn was the first to greet him and hand him a beer. “Hey, man, where’s your other half?”
Shea chuckled. “He’s coming.”
“Shea, my brotha from another motha!” Sebastian exclaimed and gave him a man hug, which

consisted of a handshake and a shoulder bump.

“Hey, Sebastian,” greeted Shea.
“There he is,” Quinn said, making Shea turn to look as Christian walked out the back door.
Shea felt a twinge of guilt as he caught the sallow complexion on Christian’s face. It was his fault

that he looked like that after all. His anxiety was probably through the roof right now. Shea almost
went to him to tell him that he was taking back everything he just said, but he needed to stay strong
because Christian needed this push. Christian’s eyes met his and mixture of emotions in them broke
Shea’s heart - angry, confused, desperate, hurt, and lost. Shea wished he could just pull the man into
his arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t, not in front of all of these
people, and not when Christian was so adamant about not saying anything today.

Shea watched as Christian put on a fake smile and greeted everyone. He could also see that

Christian’s brothers were watching him closely. They knew something was up. Christian was not
good at hiding his feelings, and if Shea saw everything that was in his eyes, then his brothers did,
too.

“Shea, thanks for coming, man,” Henry said, walking up to him with a warm smile on his

handsome face.

Shea smiled in return. “Thanks for inviting me.”

They shook hands and Henry moved to stand next to him, turning slightly so that his back was to

where Christian was standing, saying hello to his parents.

“Did you and Christian have a fight?” he asked quietly.
Shea snorted and took a sip of his beer. “Can’t get anything past you guys, huh?”
“If it wasn’t for Christian’s face and the way he looked at you, I never would have known. You

didn’t give anything away, he did,” Henry murmured.

Shea nodded. “Yeah, we had an argument.”
Henry cocked his head slightly. “What about?”
Shea shook his head. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“Bullshit,” Henry replied, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Shea sighed. “Listen, Henry, if I could tell you I would, but…” he trailed off, glancing at Christian

over Henry’s shoulder.

Henry frowned and glanced back at Christian, too. “What the fuck is going on?” Henry whispered

demandingly when he turned back to look at Shea.

“Just…just forget it for now, Henry, please,” Shea said, pleading with his eyes for Henry to drop

it.

Henry stared at him hard for a moment before giving him a curt nod. Shea gave him a thankful look

before downing the rest of his beer. Henry was still watching him skeptically, though. This party
was going to be a nightmare. Shea could just feel it.

Christian stood with his brothers over by the grill and coolers of beer, while Shea was in the pool

playing with the kids. Christian watched him as he bounced with Mikey in his arms, putting the one
year old’s shoulders under the water over and over, making the kid giggle. Shea loved kids almost
as much as Christian did; he was really good with them, too. Christian was certain that Shea would
make a fabulous father one day.

“Alright, I gotta tell you guys something,” Sebastian said, pulling Christian’s attention away from

Shea.

“What is it?” Christian asked and lifted his beer to his lips.
“The other night, Rae and I were fooling around, right? Well, she stuck her finger in my ass while

blowing me…”

Christian immediately started choking on the beer he was sipping at the time. He was so shocked

and taken aback by what Sebastian said, that he sucked in a breath while he was drinking. Christian
bent over and put his hands on his knees as he continued to choke, beer coming out his nose and
everything. Someone put a hand on his back and he could hear his brothers laughing hysterically.

“Is he okay?” Shea called from the pool.
“Fine!” Sebastian called back.
Someone handed him a paper towel. He couldn’t see who it was because his eyes were watering

so badly from the beer that came up his nose. When he was finally able quit coughing, he wiped his
face and straightened up. His brothers were still pissing themselves laughing, while everyone else
was watching them curiously.

“What’s the matter, Chris? Have you had fingers up your ass before? You have haven’t you, you

kinky bastard you.” Sebastian chuckled low, giving him a playful shove.

Christian felt the heat rise up his neck and face. Dammit, he was not a good liar at all. He just

shrugged, not meeting any of their eyes.

“Aw, shit. I never would have thought that you were that kind of guy, Chris.” Sebastian smirked.
“Can we not talk about this?” Christian rasped, his voice messed up from all of that coughing.
“Really? I certainly want to hear more about your freaky sex habits.” Henry grinned before

sipping his beer.

Christian’s face burned and he glanced around, looking for some kind of exit. He then felt an

unwanted anxiety attack coming on hard and fast. His heart started fluttering, he got lightheaded, and
the beer and burger in his stomach started to turn sour. He swallowed hard and tried to pull in a
deep breath but his lungs wouldn’t expand enough.

“Shit, you guys, now look what you did. You’ve sent him into a panic attack,” Quinn snapped and

grabbed Christian’s upper arm to drag him away from Henry and Sebastian.

Christian started hyperventilating as Quinn pulled him away, black spots dancing in front of him

and he struggled to stay on his feet. Quinn wrapped an arm around his waist and led him into the
house, where he took Christian right to the bathroom in the hall on the first floor, shutting them in and
locking the door. Christian gagged and slapped a hand over his mouth. Quinn rushed him over to the
toilet, threw up the seat and got Christian’s face over the bowl just in time.

“Jesus Christ!” Quinn sighed behind him and rubbed circles on Christian’s back.
Christian was heaving so hard that he could barely breathe, and when he was able to draw in a

breath, it was loud and ragged. It was a few minutes before he finally stopped. When he seemed to
be finished, Quinn reached over him and flushed the toilet. His brother then grabbed some toilet
paper, put a hand on Christian’s forehead and lifted his face out of the toilet bowl.

Quinn put the wad of toilet paper up to his nose. “Blow,” he said softly.
Christian did as he was told and blew his nose. Quinn grabbed another wad of toilet paper and

wiped his mouth next. Damn, he couldn’t remember any of his brothers ever taking care of him like
this; it was usually Shea’s job, or he went at it alone.

“Are you alright?” Quinn asked, concern coloring his tone.
Christian had to swallow a couple of times before he could answer. “I think so,” he rasped, his

throat raw from the choking and now this.

Quinn smoothed Christian’s hair back from his forehead. “Christian, you can talk to me, man, you

know that, right?” he said quietly in his deep raspy voice.

Christian closed his eyes. “I know.” He sighed, letting Quinn help him sit on the floor with his

back against the wall. Quinn then sat down next to him.

“Is there anything you want to talk about? Do you want to tell me why you almost passed the fuck

out because of what Sebastian said?”

Christian dropped his head into his hands. Did he tell Quinn? He was afraid of what he would

think the most because of what happened to him - a man raped him. Would he think that Christian
was a freak for wanting to be with another man? He was definitely closest to Quinn, and usually
went to him first with any problems that he had.

“Chris, whatever it is, you can tell me,” Quinn coaxed.
For the first time, Christian felt the urge to blurt it out, just tell Quinn that he was gay and deal

with whatever his older brother’s reaction would be. Now he had to decide if he was going to give
into that urge or not.

“If I…if I tell you, you have to swear to me that you will not tell anyone else,” Christian

whispered, lifting his face to look over at Quinn.

Quinn’s serious brown eyes studied him. “You have my word, I will not tell a soul,” Quinn

answered sincerely.

Christian knew for a fact that Quinn would keep whatever Christian told him to himself, it was as

clear as day in his eyes. Christian nodded and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing…

“Can you promise not to hate me?” Christian asked, his voice trembling.
Quinn frowned in confusion. “I could never hate you, Christian…never.”
Christian held Quinn’s gaze as he said, “I…I’m gay, Quinn.”
Quinn stared at him for a moment, nothing changing in his expression. Then he started to nod

slowly, a small smile playing across his lips. “Okay.”

Christian gaped at him. “Okay? That’s all you have to say? Okay?”
Quinn shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I don’t care if you’re gay,” he replied.
“You don’t?” Christian croaked, tears welling up so fast that he didn’t have time to stop them from

rolling down his cheeks.

Quinn’s face softened. “Of course not. You are still my brother, no matter what. I still love you.

Did you really think that would change once I found out?”

Christian blinked rapidly and nodded. Quinn sighed sadly and wrapped his arm around

Christian’s shoulders, tugging him closer. Quinn kissed his temple.

“You being gay changes nothing. I love you. You’re my brother, and I will always be here for

you,” Quinn murmured.

“What about Henry and Sebastian? What will they think? And mom and dad?”
Quinn chuckled low. “Honestly, Henry, Sebastian, and I were already starting to suspect that you

were, and I’m sure mom and dad will be fine with it.”

Christian’s eyes widened on Quinn. “What do you mean you guys were already starting to

suspect?”

Quinn shrugged. “There have just been a few things lately that sort of pointed in that direction.

Henry especially got suspicious when he saw that painting of Shea that you did.”

Christian winced. He just knew Henry was going to pick up on that. Dammit.
“So are you and Shea together?” Quinn asked curiously.
Christian nodded. “Yeah.”
Quinn snorted. “How did that happen? I swore Shea was straight.”
“It’s a long story, and I really don’t want to get into it right now. I don’t even know if he’s going to

stay with me.” Christian sighed.

“Why not?” Quinn asked.
“We actually fought on our way over here because I kept refusing to tell you guys, and he’s tired

of hiding our relationship…”

“How long have you been together?”
“Five months,” Christian answered.
Quinn blinked in shock. “Well, shit. I knew something was different between you two, but I never

would have guessed you’ve been dating for five months.”

“We’re in love,” Christian whispered, dropping his gaze to his hands where they were clasped in

his lap.

“I don’t doubt it.” Quinn smiled.
“I want to marry him,” Christian said, lifting his eyes to see Quinn reaction.
Quinn smiled widened. “That’s great, Christian, really. I’m glad you found someone who makes

you happy.”

Christian shook his head. “I just can’t get over how well you’re taking this.”
“Please, dude, I think my secret was worse,” Quinn scoffed.
Christian found himself chuckling as a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. A knock sounded at the

door, making them both look over at it.

“Yeah?” Quinn called.
“Is everything alright in there?” Their mother’s voice called through the door.
“Christian had a panic attack, he’s okay now,” Quinn answered.
“We are getting ready to sing Happy Birthday; do you think you guys can join us?”
“We’ll be right out,” Christian called.
“Okay.”
After a moment of silence, Quinn got up and helped pull Christian to his feet and right into a big

hug. Christian sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around his brother’s waist. Quinn patted the
back of his head fondly before grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back so Quinn could see his
face.

“What happened in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom.” Quinn smirked.
Christian laughed. “Thanks.”
“You tell everyone else when you’re ready, but I promise you, everyone will be fine with it.”
Christian nodded. “Thank you, Quinn.”
Quinn gave him a wink and opened the door. Christian rinsed out his mouth in the sink before

leaving. He walked out the back door just as Shea was getting out of the pool. Christian tried not to
gawk but…goddamn! The man was just stunning. His shoulders were broad, covered in ropey
muscle and tanned skin. His chest and abs were defined and rock hard. The water ran down his body
as he made his way up the stairs. His board shorts were slung low on his lean hips, showing off the
V of muscle that was cut off by the waistband of his shorts. He brought his hands up to wipe the
water from his eyes, so he didn’t even notice that Christian was watching him.

Shea grabbed a towel off a nearby chair and dried his face some more before he looked around,

his worried gaze finally landing on Christian. Shea searched his eyes and mouthed, “You okay?”

Christian nodded and gave him a reassuring smile, but Shea continued to frown. He dried off some

more with the towel before wrapping it around his waist. He walked over and stood next to
Christian while everyone sang Happy Birthday to Adalyn and Michael. Both kids were set up in a
highchair and given a piece of cake when the song was over. Amazingly, both kids dove right in and
got down and dirty with the cake. Everyone was laughing and taking pictures and just having a great
time.

Christian looked over at Shea to find him standing with his arms crossed and his head down.

Christian frowned. He was just about to tell Shea that he told Quinn about them when Quinn actually
asked for everyone’s attention.

“Since everyone is here, Margot and I have some news,” Quinn said.

“We just found out that we are going to have a baby!” Margot squealed and started jumping up and

down.

The crowd erupted. Christian’s jaw dropped, not expecting that. He thought that they were going

to wait longer before having kids - they weren’t even married yet. Not that you needed to be married
to have kids, but that’s just what he thought they would do.

“We are also going to get married next Saturday at the courthouse,” Quinn added.
“What? Why not have an actual wedding?” Sebastian squawked.
“Not my thing, man.” Quinn shrugged. “We’ll have a party, though, at a later date, when Margot’s

family can fly in from Paris.”

“Loser!” Sebastian huffed.
Everyone made their way over to the soon-to-be parents and newly-weds to congratulate them.

Christian hugged Quinn. “Congrats, Quinn.”

“Thank you. You could say something, too, you know,” Quinn whispered.
“No, no fucking way. It’s your moment. I’ll have mine another time,” Christian said adamantly.
Quinn pulled back from the hug and smiled at him. It was so good to see Quinn finally smiling all

of the time. “Alright, if you insist.”

Christian nodded. “I do.”
Quinn patted him on the face before he was pushed out of the way by Margot. “Christian! Are you

okay? You did not look so well earlier,” Margot asked, cupping his face in her dainty little hands.

“I’m much better now, thank you. And congrats.” Christian smiled and patted her hands.
Margot beamed. “Oui, merci. It came as a surprise but we are ecstatic.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Christian said warmly.
“I’m thinking us Beck men have some damn strong swimmers - Raelynn got pregnant by accident,

Henry’s popping them out like a fucking bunny, now Quinn’s having an accidental baby - I’m
blaming our sperm,” Sebastian said, appearing next to Christian and Margot.

“Oui, me, too! They must have survived my birth control pill. That is the only way because I was

vigilant with them,” Margot said.

As Sebastian and Margot got to talking about sperm, Christian turned to find that Shea was no

longer by his side, but sitting at one of the tables, talking to Christian’s father. They were both
smiling, so Christian was guessing it was a light and happy conversation. He decided to let Shea be
and talk to him later.

Christian was clapped on the back a minute later. He turned to see Henry with Adalyn in his arms

in just a diaper and covered in chocolate. It was everywhere, in her hair, all over her arms and legs,
and smeared all over her face and body. Christian couldn’t help but laugh.

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean to make you so uncomfortable,” Henry said

quietly.

Christian shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you alright? You looked like you were going to pass out earlier,” Henry asked, concern

drawing his brows down.

“I’m fine now, seriously, don’t worry about it,” Christian assured him.
Henry nodded. “Okay.” He then shoved Adalyn into his arms. “Here, take the chocolate monster

so I can go get the hose.”

Henry’s naked torso and arms were smeared in chocolate from holding his daughter. Christian

held her out and away from his body so he didn’t end up like Henry. Adalyn giggled and kicked her
chubby little legs.

“Should I just toss her in the pool?” Christian chuckled.
Henry barked out a laugh. “Hell no! I don’t want chocolate in my pool!”
“Too late!” Claire called.
Christian saw Henry whip his head around in the direction of the pool. Christian turned to see

Sebastian standing on the steps, dipping Michael in the water to wash the chocolate off him.

“Dammit! Sebastian!” Henry shouted and started toward him.
Christian watched as Henry took Michael from him, handed him off to a laughing Raelynn, before

taking a flying leap at Sebastian who was laughing hysterically on the pool steps. Henry caught
Sebastian around the waist and they both flew back into the pool. When they came up out of the
water, Henry had Sebastian in a headlock. Sebastian surged up out of the water and flipped Henry
over his shoulder. Christian shook his head as the two continued to wrestle and tried to drown each
other.

“I’ll take her, Christian,” Claire said, bringing his attention away from his crazy ass brothers.
Claire and Raelynn were standing there smiling. “We’re going to stick these two in the outdoor

shower,” Raelynn said.

Christian laughed. “Okay,” he said and handed Adalyn to Claire.
As they walked away, Christian heard Quinn yell, “CANNONBECK!” He turned just in time to

see Quinn leap into the air, hug one knee to his chest, and splash into the pool right next to Henry and
Sebastian. Christian laughed and shook his head as Quinn got in on the fight, jumping on Sebastian’s
back. Christian figured he better get in there to make it even.

Shea turned in his chair when he heard Christian yell, “PENCILBECK!” He had no freaking idea

what the hell a “PencilBeck” was, so he had watch and find out. Christian stood on the edge of the
pool at the deep end, hopped off the ledge, keeping his arms flat to his sides, his body completely
ridged and straight, as he entered the water. Shea understood now what a “PencilBeck” was. He
laughed and shook his head. Idiot.

When Christian came up out of the water, he swam over to his brothers and climbed on Henry’s

back. Sebastian screamed, “CHICKEN FIGHT!” and Shea groaned. Four grown ass men were going
to have a chicken fight? Really?

“I swear, they stopped maturing at ten,” Henry Sr. murmured next to him.
Shea chuckled and watched as Christian got on Henry’s shoulders and Quinn got on Sebastian’s.

Shea couldn’t get over how vicious the four of them fought. Quinn and Christian shoved at each
other, while Henry and Sebastian tried to shove each other’s faces in the water. Quinn, at one point,
palmed Christian’s face and pushed hard. Christian almost went down, his arms pin wheeled, but
Henry grabbed one of his wrists and pulled him back up. The smile on Christian’s face as he played
with his brothers warmed Shea’s heart like nothing else. He could see what Christian feared losing
if his brothers didn’t accept him being gay. There was a lot of love and a super tight bond between
the four of them. That was also the reason Shea knew that they would never disown him. They loved

him too much.

Christian and Henry won, only because Henry gave Sebastian a double titty twister while

Christian did the same to Quinn, then pushed. The two men went down instantly, both screaming and
covering their nipples. Shea had to laugh, that was Christian and Henry’s signature move. They used
it many, many times back in the day when they all went to the public pool during the summer growing
up. Quinn and Sebastian must have forgotten about it, Shea sure did.

Shea figured it was now safe to get back in the pool; plus, he wanted to talk to Christian to find

out if he was okay. The way Quinn had practically carried him inside earlier had him really
worried. Shea got in by the stairs and made his way over to where Christian was lounging against
the wall in the deep end. Shea swam up and clung to the wall next to him.

“Hey,” Shea murmured.
Christian gave him a soft smile that made Shea’s heart flutter every time he saw it. “Hi.”
“Are you doing okay?” Shea asked, wishing so bad that he could touch Christian.
Christian nodded and moved closer. “Quinn knows,” he whispered.
Shea flinched as if slapped. “What?” he asked dryly, not sure he heard Christian right.
“I told Quinn, he knows.” Christian smiled.
Well, shit. “And?” Shea prompted.
Christian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he could breathe for the first time ever.

“It’s fine. He doesn’t care, he’s actually happy for us,” Christian murmured, opening his eyes.

The look in Christian’s eyes made Shea have to choke back tears - he saw peace. For the first time

in his life, Christian wasn’t worried or anxious, he was just calm and relaxed and full of joy.

“I want to kiss you so fucking badly right now.” Shea breathed.
Christian smirked. “Not yet, let me tell the rest of my family before we start doing that in front of

them.”

“When?” Shea asked.
“Another day. I want Quinn and Margot to have their fifteen minutes of fame.”
Shea nodded. “Okay,” he agreed.
“Thank you,” Christian murmured, his eyes sincere and full of love as they bored into Shea’s.
“For what?” Shea asked, confused.
“Pushing me,” Christian replied. “I don’t think I would have ever told any of them if you hadn’t

said what you said.”

Shea smiled softly. “You can thank me later if you’d like.”
“Oh, I plan on it,” Christian rasped.
Shea had to stifle a shudder at the promise in Christian’s tone.
“One, four, three,” Christian murmured.
Shea cocked his head. “Huh?”
“It’s the number of letters in the words I want to say, but too many people could read my lips if I

actually say it,” Christian muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Oooh,” Shea said, understanding. Then he laughed and gave Christian a playful shove. “You’re

so corny.”

Christian snorted. “Why do you think I rolled my eyes?”
“One, four, three, three,” Shea whispered with a stupid grin on his face.
Christian chuckled.

Shea really wanted to kiss him, badly, but he would refrain until all of Christian’s family knew.

He was glad Christian told Quinn. He was surprised, though, at how fast it happened. He expected
Christian to procrastinate and wait until the very last day of Shea’s threat to tell his family. This was
great, though, went even better than Shea had hoped. Shea was so afraid that Christian was going to
tell him to go fuck himself, that he wasn’t going to tell him family, but his ultimatum didn’t backfire
on him. Thank fucking god!

That night, when they were getting ready to leave, Quinn grabbed Shea and pulled him into a hug.

Shea “Oofed” and hugged Quinn back, giving him a couple of pats on the back. It was really weird,
this new Quinn that hugs.

“Treat my brother right or I will beat the shit out of you,” Quinn whispered in his ear.
Shea smiled. It was a good sign if Quinn was threatening him with bodily harm if he didn’t treat

Christian right. “I will, I promise,” Shea replied.

Quinn let him go and gave him a fond, brotherly smack on the face before smiling and winking at

Shea. Shea rolled his eyes and followed Christian out the door. Shea got into the driver’s side and
sighed.

“That party went much better than expected,” he said.
“Mmm hmm.”
Shea looked over to see Christian with his head back and his eyes closed. Yeah, Shea was beat,

too. Being out in the sun and playing in the pool with the kids all day was exhausting. Shea had no
idea how Henry and Sebastian kept up with those maniacs they call children. Just one day with the
four of them was enough. The kids were all over him, constantly calling, “Shea, Shea, Shea,” that he
was ready to change his name by the time they all crashed in the living room on the floor and
couches. By this time next year, there were going to be five kids in all, once Quinn and Margot have
their baby, and who know who else is going to get pregnant again by that time. Shea figured it was
kind of a good thing that Christian and he couldn’t have babies, because with the amount of sex they
had, he couldn’t even begin to imagine all of the kids they would pop out.

~Chapter 8~

Shea jumped when his cell phone started to vibrate his ass. Luckily, he wasn’t in the process of

using a saw or something, because that could have gone very wrong. He did, however, have a bunch
of screws in his mouth since he was in the middle of putting up drywall. Shea dug his phone out of
his pocket with one hand and looked at the screen. Christian? Why was Christian calling him? He
knew Shea was working late today. Shea hit the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

“Yeah, Chris?” he said as best he could around the screws.
“I’m sorry for interrupting whatever you’re doing but I just listened to the messages on the house

phone and someone from social services called, saying that they needed to speak with you right
away, that it was really important,” Christian said.

“Social services?” Shea asked, confused.
“Yeah, I have no idea what it could possibly be about, but the woman on the message sounded

serious and almost frantic,” Christian said.

“Hmm,” Shea murmured.
“I’ve got her name and number if you want to call her back.”
Shea spit the screws into his hand then put them in a pocket of his tool belt so that he could grab

the pencil that was tucked behind his ear. “Okay, shoot.”

Christian relayed the woman’s name and number. Shea just wrote it on the drywall since it would

be painted over anyway. After Shea and Christian said goodbye, Shea called up the woman named
Jackie Young at social services.

“Jackie Young, speaking,” a female voice answered on the phone.
“Hi, this is Shea Dempsey, you left me a message?”
“Oh, Mr. Dempsey, thank you for calling me back so quickly!”
“Sure, no problem. What can I do for you?” Shea asked.
“Mr. Dempsey, did you know a Ms. Tara Lafferty?” Jackie said grimly.
Shea’s stomach filled with dread at her tone. “Yes, I know Tara, is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry, no. Ms. Lafferty got into a horrendous car accident early yesterday morning and

passed away,” Jackie informed him softly.

“Jesus!” Shea breathed, scrubbing a hand over his dark hair.
“That was not exactly the reason I was calling you, though. The reason I called was because Ms.

Lafferty was eight months pregnant, and although she died, the baby survived and is in the NICU at
Children’s Hospital,” Jackie said.

“Tara was pregnant?” Shea squawked.
“I see that you had no idea. You were not dating?”
“No, I haven’t seen her in about six months…oh my god…” Shea gasped. The last time he saw her

he had noticed that her boobs looked bigger, that was probably why. Sonofabitch!

“She listed you as the father of the baby in a Will she had drawn up about a month ago. She has no

other living relatives,” Jackie said.

“What are you saying?” Shea asked hoarsely even though he had a pretty good idea.
“What I am saying, Mr. Dempsey, is that you are the child’s only living blood relative. If you do

not want to take custody of the child, and would rather sign away your parental rights, then she will
be placed in the foster care system,” Jackie said softly.

“She?” Shea croaked.
“Yes, she. The baby is a girl.”
“How…wha…I mean, is she really mine?”
“The only way to know for sure would be to take a paternity test, which will take about a week to

get the results. In the meantime, the baby is healthy and cleared to be released from the hospital. I
wanted to give you the option to take her home with you before I made other arrangements.”

Shea’s knees suddenly felt like jello and he swore all of the blood drained out of his brain. “Holy

shit, are you for real, lady, or are you just fucking with me?” Shea rasped.

“I am completely serious, Mr. Dempsey. I will give you some time to think things over, but you

must call me by tomorrow morning with your answer. The hospital will not continue to keep the
baby there if she is healthy and can leave.”

“Okay.” Shea breathed and hung up the phone.
He needed air. He stumbled out of the house he was working in and down the front steps. A few

guys asked him if he was okay but he just ignored them and went to his truck. He got in, started it up,
and drove out of there; he’d deal with the consequences of leaving later. He needed to get home, he
had to talk to Christian, and he just couldn’t do it over the phone. He needed Christian there to catch
him when he passed the fuck out.

Shea made it home in record time. He walked in the front door and immediately called for

Christian. Christian appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, his face a mixture of confusion and
concern.

“Shea, what are you doing home? I thought you were working late?” Christian asked as he started

toward him.

“I called that woman, Jackie, back,” Shea croaked.
Christian stopped in front of him. “And?”
“Tara died in a car accident yesterday morning,” Shea whispered.
Christian sighed. “Shit.”
“That’s not all, though. She was eight months pregnant. The baby survived and is down at CHOP.

Tara supposedly named me as the father in her Will.”

Christian sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening as he woodenly took a couple of steps back

to drop down onto the stairs. “What?” He breathed, staring up at Shea.

Shea scrubbed his hair with both hands and started to pace. “Jackie said that if I don’t want the

baby then she’s going to be put into foster care because Tara has no other living relatives.”

Christian shook his head. “No, no, you can’t let that baby be put into foster care, Shea, especially

if she’s yours,” Christian rushed to say, shooting to his feet.

“Without a paternity test, I can’t know for sure that she’s mine,” Shea said.
“When do you need to decide?” Christian asked.
“Jackie said she’s needs an answer by tomorrow morning.”
“Jesus Christ.” Christian groaned and raked a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know what to do, Christian, we have nothing for a baby - no crib, no clothes, no bottles,

diapers, car seat…fuck!” Shea cried, clasping his hands together on top of his head.

Oh god, what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t take care of a newborn! He had no idea what to

do with a newborn! Toddlers, yeah okay, he could do toddlers, they could at least say some words
and point to shit they wanted. Christian grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. Shea clung to him,

tucking his face in Christian’s neck.

“I’m not ready for a baby, Chris, and how can I possibly take care of an infant? I work too

much…” Shea said hoarsely, trailing off before he really started to break down.

“Shea, don’t forget, you are not alone. I’m here and I’m sure my family will be more than willing

to help. You can’t let that baby go into foster care when she can be with a loving family like ours,”
Christian murmured.

Shea hugged Christian tighter. He knew that he could count on Christian to be reasonable and

understanding. Even though Shea was scared out of his mind, he didn’t want to let the baby, his or
not, go into foster care. He was so relieved that Christian seemed to be all for taking the baby.

“First things first, we need to call an emergency family meeting to see what kind of baby stuff we

can borrow,” Christian said, taking charge as he pulled out his phone and started calling everyone.

Shea felt like his feet were stuck to the floor, he couldn’t move. He was in a daze while he

distantly heard Christian talking to his parents, then Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn. When he was
finished, Christian stopped in front of him, cupped Shea’s face in both hands and raised it to look
into his eyes.

“Hey, we’re gonna be fine. We can do this, and if you think about it, it’s much easier than trying to

adopt a baby,” Christian said softly.

“But I didn’t think I’d be a father at 28,” Shea whispered.
“Neither did I, but sometimes shit doesn’t go the way we expect,” Christian said and kissed Shea

softly on the lips. “Everyone should be here in about twenty minutes, and they are curious as hell as
to why we need baby stuff.”

Christian stood next to Shea in front of his stunned family who were all crammed into his living

room. Shea had just told them what was going on, and they were all obviously in shock. Henry and
Claire brought over a bassinette for them to use, along with a swing and all of Adalyn’s clothes from
her first few months. Sebastian and Raelynn brought an extra infant car seat that they had, and also a
diaper bag and bottles.

“So let me get this straight. You slept with some chick, didn’t know you knocked her up, now

she’s dead and you’re left with the baby?” Sebastian said, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“Basically.” Shea sighed.
“And the baby is going to live here, with you and Christian?” Anne asked, frowning.
“Yes,” Christian answered.
“How do you know the baby is even yours?” Henry chimed in.
“I don’t. We’re going to do a paternity test, but it takes about a week for the results to come back,

and the hospital won’t keep her. So either I take her, or she goes into the foster care system,” Shea
answered.

Anne gasped. “Oh, no! You can’t let that happen!”
Shea gave her a sad smile. “I know. That’s why Christian and I are going to take her.”
“What do you mean by ‘Christian and I’? She’s your kid, not Christian’s,” Sebastian asked

suspiciously.

Christian glanced over at Shea to see that he had closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked

at Christian apologetically. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s alright, Shea,” Christian assured him, placing a hand on his back.
“What’s alright?” Claire asked in confusion.
Christian glanced at Quinn, who gave him a subtle nod. Christian cleared his throat.
“Shea and I are going to raise the baby as a couple. We’ve been together for six months now,”

Christian said with as much confidence as he could muster.

The silence afterward was deafening. Everyone seemed to stare blankly at them. Shea shifted

nervously next to him.

“Together how, son?” his father asked uncertainly.
“Dad, I’m gay. Shea’s my boyfriend,” Christian said.
Christian watched as Claire and Raelynn’s mouths dropped open in shock. Quinn and Margot just

smiled warmly. Quinn gave him a wink, his smile turning proud, blowing Christian’s mind.
Sebastian jumped to his feet, a huge grin on his face.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it!” Sebastian chirped, pointing at Christian.
“Sebastian! Language,” Raelynn scolded, motioning to the kids playing with Jenga blocks on the

floor. It was the only thing Christian had for them to play with.

Sebastian winced. “Sorry.”
“Gay? Really?” his mother asked thoughtfully and a bit curiously.
“Yes, really.” Christian nodded.
“How long have you known?” Henry asked, getting to his feet. Christian couldn’t tell what he was

thinking, his face was oddly neutral.

“Since I was eighteen.” Christian grimaced.
“You dick! You’ve known for that long and never told us?” Sebastian snapped, advancing toward

Christian quickly.

“I didn’t want you to hate me.” Christian breathed and braced himself for Sebastian’s attack.
“Hate you?” Anne gasped. “Oh, honey! No! We could never hate you!”
Sebastian stopped in front of Christian and Shea. He put his hands on his hips and looked back

and forth between the two of them.

“I could have sworn you were straight, dude,” he said to Shea.
Shea shrugged. “I thought I was, too, but I’m not.”
“Bi, then?”
Shea nodded. “Yes.”
Sebastian nodded and suddenly pulled them both into a hug. Christian was so shocked that he just

stood there stiffly in Sebastian’s arms. Sebastian then kissed each of them on the temple.

“You two make a cute couple,” Sebastian murmured before letting them go with a ridiculously

wide grin on his face, looking like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

Christian couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that came out. Shea chuckled, too. Henry was next to

come over to them, grabbed Christian’s face, and kissed his forehead before hugging him tight.

“I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t tell us sooner,” he murmured softly.
Christian squeezed his eyes shut since they started burning from the tears that threatened to fall. He

clung tightly to his oldest brother, never expecting Henry to apologize to him when he finally came
out. Shea had been so right all of these years about how his family would react. How could he have

been so blind? He put himself through ten years of hell, trying to hide who he really was from his
family, and Shea had been telling him the whole time that they would not care, that they would love
him anyway.

After getting hugs and kisses and assuring words from the rest of the family, Christian turned to

look at Shea. Shea raised an eyebrow at him as if to say, “I told you so.” Christian smiled and
grabbed the back of Shea’s neck, pulling him in for a quick kiss that had the women ‘awww-ing’ and
Sebastian gagging loudly.

“Nooo! Don’t do that shit in front of me!” he whined.
Everyone laughed while Raelynn slapped him upside the head for cursing in front of the kids

again.

“Alright, back to the matter at hand. What to do about this baby,” Anne said after the laughter died

down. “Are you going to go get her tomorrow? Do you want me to come with you two?”

Christian was still in awe of his family and how well they took the news that he was gay, that he

wasn’t really listening to his mother. It went better than he ever could have imagined. Not only did
they not care, but they also already changed the subject.

“I think I just want it to be Christian and me, if you don’t mind, Anne. But you can definitely be

here for when we get back,” Shea said softly.

Anne nodded and gave him a gentle smile. “I understand, Shea.”
“What happens if you bring this baby home and then it turns out that she’s not yours? What are you

going to do then? Give her back?” Raelynn asked.

Shea sighed heavily and scrubbed his hand over his short hair. “I don’t know, Rae, I just…

everything is so convoluted right now that I really don’t have an answer to that.”

“We’re just going to have to take it one day at a time,” Christian murmured, putting his arm around

Shea’s shoulders.

Shea nodded and leaned into him, apparently needing the comfort.
They all talked some more about the situation before everyone went home. Christian walked them

all out while Shea cleaned up some cups left around. Christian walked with Quinn and Margot to
their car.

“I told you that they would be fine with it,” Quinn said.
“Yes, you did,” Christian agreed.
“Do you feel better now that we all know?” Margot asked.
“Ugh! You have no idea!”
Margot and Quinn chuckled.
“How are you two doing? Feel any different now that you’ve been married for two weeks?”

Christian smirked.

Quinn snorted. “No, it doesn’t feel any different.”
“Oui, I agree, we are still the same.” Margot giggled.
“When are you going to have the party?” Christian asked.
“We’ll give you guys time to sort this out before we plan anything,” Quinn said.
“Thanks, Quinn, I appreciate that,” Christian said solemnly.
“Sure, if you need anything tomorrow, just call,” Quinn murmured, giving Christian a hug.
“Okay.”
“Let me know when you get home. I want to see the baby.” Margot smiled, giving him kisses on

both cheeks before she got in the car with Quinn.

Christian waved goodbye then went back inside. Shea had just walked into the living room as

Christian walked into the house. Christian shut and locked the door behind him. When he turned
around, he was immediately enveloped in Shea’s arms. Christian hugged him back, tucking his face
in Shea’s neck. Christian pulled in a deep breath through his nose, pulling in Shea’s scent. He
smelled like his body wash and laundry detergent, since he was freshly showered and his clothes
were clean.

“You okay?” Christian asked him.
“Yeah, are you?” Shea replied.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Good.”
“They all know,” Christian whispered.
“Yes, they do,” Shea said. Since his face was tucked against Christian’s, he couldn’t see his

smile, but Christian could hear it when he spoke. “And they didn’t care.”

“You were right.”
“Aren’t I always?” Shea chuckled.
“No, shut up.” Christian snorted.
Shea pulled back from their hug first. He gave Christian a soft kiss on the lips.
“We’re gonna be daddies tomorrow,” Shea said.
Christian shook his head at the crazy thought. “That’s insane.”
“I know, right?” Shea scoffed.
“We’ll be fine,” Christian said, rubbing up and down Shea’s arms.
Shea nodded, a determined look on his face. “Yes, we will.”

~Chapter 9~

Holy shit Batman! Shea was nervous as hell. Christian and he were making their way up to the

maternity ward in Abington Hospital. He was actually shaking from being so nervous. They were
meeting up with Jackie, so she could go over a few things before letting him see the baby. Christian
took his hand and squeezed it as they walked through the doors of the maternity ward. Shea took a
deep breath and stepped up to the desk.

“Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting Jackie Young,” Shea told to nurse at the desk.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Dempsey, right?” the nurse asked as she stood.
“Yes.”
“Okay, let me get Jackie for you,” she said, walking through a door behind her.
A few minutes later, she returned with another woman in tow. Jackie smiled a warm motherly

smile as she came out from behind the desk. She was probably about the same age as Christian’s
mother. She had soft, caring, hazel eyes and short auburn hair. She held out her hand to him.

“Hi, Mr. Dempsey, I’m Jackie Young,” she said, introducing herself.
“Hi. Please, call me Shea,” he replied with a tight smile.
Jackie nodded. “Okay,” she said before turning her gaze to Christian. “And you are?” she asked,

holding out her hand to him.

“Christian Beck,” Christian murmured softly and shook her hand.
“Christian is my boyfriend,” Shea informed her.
“Oh, wow, don’t you two make a handsome couple, jeez,” she said, fanning herself.
Christian fought not to smile while Shea couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I’m so glad that you decided to take her. I would hate to see another child go unnecessarily into

foster care. I’m just going to need you to sign some paperwork and then I’ll take you to meet her,”
Jackie said.

“What will happen if it turns out that she’s not mine?” Shea asked hoarsely.
Jackie smiled gently. “Let’s not worry about that yet.”
Shea nodded.
Shea signed a whole bunch of paperwork and let a nurse take a swab of the inside of his cheek for

the paternity test. Jackie then led them down a hallway toward the nursery. Shea took a deep breath
when they stopped outside of the door that separated him from the baby that was possibly his
daughter.

“There is a sink just inside the door. I’m going to ask that you both wash your hands,” Jackie said

before opening the door.

Shea and Christian followed her inside and did as they were told. After they both washed and

dried their hands, Jackie led them over toward the windows where there were a few swings set up.
Shea’s heart pounded as she stopped in front of a gently swinging swing, where the tiniest baby he’s
ever seen was sleeping. Shea’s breath caught as Jackie turned the swing off and turned to look at
him.

“You can pick her up if you want,” she said with a soft smile.
Shea opened his mouth to decline but nothing came out as he just stared at the baby.
“How much does she weight? She’s awfully small,” Christian said.

“She was weighed this morning and she is five pounds, ten ounces. Even though she was a month

premature, she is in perfect health, and is big enough to leave the hospital. She’s eating great and
should put on weight fairly quickly.”

“Shea? Do you want to hold her?” Christian asked quietly.
Shea shook his head. “I can’t.” He breathed. There was no way in hell that he could hold a baby

that small. What if he dropped her?

Christian slipped his arm around Shea’s shoulders. “Do you want me to pick her up?”
Shea nodded quickly. “Yeah, sure,” he croaked.
“I’ll give you guys some time with her while I go get the discharge papers. I am also going to ask

that you start thinking about what to name her,” Jackie said before leaving the nursery.

“Name her?” Shea gasped. “She wants me to name her?”
Christian just smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Relax, Shea.”
Shea shook his head. “I don’t think I can do this, Chris.” He choked, taking a step back.
Oh god, how could he have ever agreed to this? That baby was so small and fragile, and he was

going to break her. He couldn’t be a father! He needed to get out of here; he needed to find Jackie
and tell her that he changed his mind. He started backing away but Christian grabbed his shoulders.

“Hey! Shea, look at me,” Christian said, his tone clipped as he ducked his head to catch Shea’s

wide gaze.

Shea swallowed hard as Christian’s rich brown eyes bored into his. “Everything is going to be

fine. I know she is small, but she needs us. We are in this together, Shea. You are not alone, I
promise. If you don’t want to hold her right now, that’s fine,” Christian said firmly, squeezing his
shoulders.

“I…I can’t name her…” Shea stammered.
“Sure you can,” Christian assured him. “Why don’t we name her after your sister?”
“Skylar?” Shea frowned in confusion.
“Yes, Skylar.” Christian smiled, glancing over his shoulder at the baby. “I think she looks like a

Skylar, don’t you?”

Shea pulled in a shaky breath and peeked over Christian’s shoulder at the tiny sleeping baby.

“Yeah, yeah she does,” Shea agreed, feeling less panicked.

Christian smiled lovingly and pulled him into a hug. Shea sighed and wrapped his arms around

Christian. “What would I do without you?” Shea whispered.

“Die?” Christian chuckled.
“Definitely.” Shea grunted in agreement.
They separated a moment later and Christian went over to the baby and scooped the swaddled

bundle into his arms. Christian had plenty of practice with little babies. Shea’s been there from the
beginning with his niece and nephews, but he always refused to hold them until they could hold their
own heads up. Newborns made him really nervous, he was so afraid of hurting them somehow.

Christian cradled the baby in the crook of his arm and rocked from side to side. Shea didn’t even

think that Christian knew he was even doing it. The baby looked even smaller now that Christian
was holding her. She made him look like a freaking giant! Shea moved closer so that he could see
her better. Christian slipped his free arm around Shea’s waist and tugged him even closer. Shea put
his arm around Christian in return. Shea looked down at the baby girl still asleep snuggled tightly in
her blanket. Damn, she was gorgeous! Her tiny little hand peeked out of the top of the blanket; Shea

reached over - only having to use one finger – and slipped his finger into her hand. She immediately
grabbed on, shocking the hell out of Shea.

“She’s hanging on.” He breathed in surprise.
Christian’s response was to kiss his temple.
“She’s beautiful,” Shea murmured quietly, afraid to wake her.
“Yes, she is,” Christian whispered.
Shea had no idea how long they stood there, but it seemed like forever before Jackie came back

with the discharge papers. Christian put Skylar back into the swing and ran out to the car to get the
car seat while Shea signed the papers.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them were on their way home. Christian drove while Shea sat in

the backseat with Skylar – which had been put on her birth certificate – along with his name and
Tara’s name. Jackie seemed pretty confident that the baby was his, and insisted that he fill the birth
certificate out so that the baby could have a name. She was now Skylar Katherine Dempsey after his
little sister and mother. Shea hoped that eventually he would be able to change her name to Skylar
Katherine Beck, but one-step at a time.

The only people that were waiting at the house when they got home were Christian’s parents.

Christian told his brothers to hold off coming over until they were settled in some, which they totally
understood. Christian pulled into the driveway and parked. He got out and let Shea grab the car seat
- he was okay with carrying her that way.

Anne clasped her hands over her mouth and nose when she first saw Skylar, tears welling up in

her eyes. Shea put her car seat down on the floor in the living room. As soon as Shea set the seat
down, the baby started fussing.

“Shit, what did I do?” Shea sighed.

“Nothing, she’s probably hungry,” Christian assured him. “The nurse said she’s going to want to

eat every couple of hours and it’s about that time.”

Shea nodded tightly. Poor guy, he was such a mess right now.

“Mom, you wanna grab her while I make a bottle?” Christian asked and started rifling through the

bag of stuff that Jackie gave them.

There were some diapers, wipes, binkies, nose suckers, and a few cans of powdered formula.

Christian grabbed a can and headed into the kitchen to make a four-ounce bottle. By the time he got
back, his mom was trying to soothe Skylar, but she was not having it. She was wailing. It was the
first noise that she’s made since they met her. Shea was standing off to the side looking pale.
Christian knew he was overwhelmed and he hoped that he snapped out of it soon, because Christian
was going to need his help.

“Do you want to feed her?” Christian asked his mom.

“Of course I do,” she smiled.

Christian put a bib on Skylar then handed his mom the bottle. She took the screaming baby over to

the couch and sat down, propping a pillow under her arm and the baby’s head. The crying stopped as
soon as that bottle went in her mouth; it was the cutest thing Christian’s ever seen.

His mother started cooing to Skylar about being a hungry baby, making Christian smile. He was

glad his parents were being so supportive. His dad moved over to the couch and sat down next to
Anne so that he could see the baby better.

While those two were occupied, Christian went to Shea, taking his hand and pulling him into the

kitchen. Christian turned to face Shea, who was looking a bit shell-shocked.

“How you holding up, love?” Christian asked softly, brushing his knuckles over Shea’s scruffy

cheek.

Shea closed his eyes and stepped into Christian, loosely slipping his arms around Christian’s

waist and tucking his face into his neck. Christian sighed and wrapped his arms around Shea,
cupping the back of his head with one hand.

“I feel like we’ve made a mistake,” Shea croaked. “I don’t know how to take care of a baby, I

can’t…I can’t do this.”

“Shhh, Shea, everything is going to be fine, I promise,” Christian murmured.

Shea shook his head and clutched Christian tighter as he pulled in a ragged breath.

“Shea, you’re just overwhelmed. You’ve had this huge responsibility dumped on you practically

overnight, but I’m here, we’re going to do this together,” Christian tried to assure him.

“I can’t even hold her,” Shea sobbed, his whole body trembling as he clung to the back of

Christian’s shirt.

The last time Christian saw Shea cry was when his family died, and that was over four years ago.

So for him to be crying now meant that he was feeling lost and helpless and couldn’t see any hope of
things getting better.

“Christian, honey, can I have a word with Shea?” Came his mother’s voice from behind Shea.

Christian looked up to see his mother standing in the kitchen doorway, her hands clasped together

in front of her, a soft but concerned smile on her face. His mother always looked so put together with
her crisp blouses, jeans, and perfectly coiffed white hair. He pulled back from Shea, who quickly
tried to pull himself together, swiping the tears from his face. Christian looked down at him, giving

him a soft kiss on the lips before leaving so that his mom could talk to him.

He walked into the living room and found his dad holding Skylar while he sat on the couch - she

was out cold. The bottle sat empty on the coffee table. Christian smiled; she was definitely going to
grow fast if she ate like that all of the time. He went and sat down next to his dad.

“How are you holding up, Christian?” his dad asked, glancing over at him.

“I’m okay, surprisingly,” Christian answered.

“That’s good. Shea’s falling apart, isn’t he?” Henry Sr. frowned, his green eyes looking sad.

“A little bit.” Christian sighed and nodded.

His dad then reached over and squeezed his knee. “You stay strong for him, just like you did when

his family died.”

Christian looked over at his father to find him looking at him with love and pride in his eyes.

Christian swallowed back the emotion that suddenly clogged his throat. “I will, dad.”

“You’re a good man, Christian, and I’m glad that you and Shea are together. You guys have

always been the perfect pair, and I know that this baby is in the best hands with you and Shea. She is
going to be loved and cared for and given everything that she needs,” Henry Sr. said sincerely.

Christian fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Damn his dad! Why did he have to go and

say shit like that right now?

“Even if she doesn’t have a mother?” Christian rasped.

“Children don’t need a mother and father. As long as they have someone who loves them with

their whole heart, than that’s enough. Whether it be two men, two women, a man and woman, or one
man or one woman, it doesn’t matter. Love and stability are what make children happy and grow into
good people. You have to teach her how to be a good person, the difference between right and
wrong. That is what defines a parent, not what gender you are.”

Christian nodded, unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face. “Thank you, dad.”

“I love you, son. You know that right?” his father murmured.

Christian smiled. “Yes, I do know. I love you, too.”

“Good. Now, I think you are about to change your first poopy diaper cause this kid is farting away

over here,” Henry Sr. chuckled.

Christian laughed and brushed the tears off his face. His father handed over Skylar and kissed

Christian’s forehead. Christian gave him a grateful smile before getting up to grab a diaper.

Christian just finished changing the baby when Shea and his mother walked into the living room.
Shea looked a bit more pulled together even though his eyes were red and puffy from crying. Who
knows what Anne said to him. Christian would try to find out later when they were alone.

“Can I…can I hold her?” Shea rasped.

“Absolutely, why don’t you sit on the couch?” Christian instructed.

Shea nodded and moved over to the couch. He sat down and rubbed his hands on his thighs.

Christian finished buttoning up Skylar’s pajamas then scooped her up off the other end of the couch
where he changed her diaper. He then brought her over to Shea and placed her in his arms. Christian
adjusted his hold a little bit before sitting down next to him.

“Breathe, Shea.” Christian smirked.

Shea let out the breath he had been holding. “I didn’t even realize I was doing that,” he murmured

with a small smile.

“I know.”

Christian put his arm on the back of the couch behind Shea.

“She’s so light,” Shea whispered.

“Yeah, right now. Wait until you see how fast she grows,” Anne chuckled.

“Mmm, she’ll be eighteen before you know it,” Henry Sr. said.

“Oh god, don’t say that.” Shea groaned.

They all laughed.

Christian’s parents stayed for a little while longer before heading home. After giving Skylar

another bottle, Christian swaddled her and put her up in the bassinette, which was set up in their
room. He set up the video monitor that Henry and Claire provided then went downstairs to find
Shea.

Shea was in the kitchen standing in front of the sink, his hands planted on the counter on either side

of it, his head hanging down. Christian sidled up behind him and wrapped his arms around him as he
kissed the back of his neck. Shea tilted his head to the side, giving Christian better access to his
neck. Christian hummed his approval and slipped his hands up under Shea’s T-shirt to run his hands
over his tight stomach. Christian pressed his growing erection against Shea’s ass.

“How can you possibly think about sex right now?” Shea grunted.

“Because I always think about sex when you’re in the room,” Christian growled, sliding one hand

down the front of Shea’s jeans to cup him through his boxers.

“Mmm, I can’t blame you, I am extremely sexy,” Shea murmured.

Christian smiled against his neck. “I’m glad you’re getting your sense of humor back.”

“It’s never too far away,” Shea replied, gasping when Christian found his way inside his boxers.

“You were making me nervous earlier with how upset you were,” Christian murmured as he

wrapped his hand around Shea’s hardening cock.

“You can’t talk about something serious while you’re jerking me off. My brain shuts down when

you touch me, you know that.” Shea breathed, pressing his ass more firmly against Christian’s groin.

Christian nipped at Shea’s neck. “We’ll talk later then.”

Shea just hummed in agreement and dropped his head back onto Christian shoulder. He brought

his hand around to grab Christian’s hip, tugging him even closer if that was possible, as they were
already pressed against each other.

“I want you inside of me,” Shea moaned.

“God, yes.” Christian breathed and tore at Shea’s jeans.

“I really don’t feel right doing this again,” Quinn muttered as he plopped down onto Henry’s

couch.

“Baby.” Sebastian snorted from the recliner.

“Listen, I just want to know what you two think, and I can’t talk to you about Christian in front of

him.” Henry sighed.

“Why do we have to talk about him at all?” Quinn replied.

“Because we’re a bunch of women who need to gossip.” Sebastian chuckled.

Quinn rolled his eyes. Henry understood why Quinn didn’t want to talk about Christian behind his

back; it would be like him talking about Sebastian behind his back.

“First off, Quinn, I gotta know, did you know about Christian being gay before he came out to us?

Because you and Margot didn’t react at all,” Henry said with a pointed look.

Quinn nodded. “I did know, Christian told me at the kids’ birthday party when he had that huge

panic attack and I took him into the bathroom. He made me promise not to say anything because he
wanted to be the one to tell everyone.”

“But you told Margot,” Sebastian said with a frown.

Quinn smiled fondly at the mention of his wife. Henry was so freaking happy that Quinn was so in

love and had married such a wonderful woman, even if he didn’t have a huge wedding like
Sebastian’s. Their little courthouse ceremony had been very personal and intimate; Margot looked
beautiful in a tea length wedding dress. With the way she did her hair that day, plus the dress, she
looked like she came straight out of the fifties. She looked absolutely beautiful and Henry had never
seen Quinn smile the way he did that day. It had warmed his heart.

“Margot had found out way before I did and had even kept it a secret from me, and believe me, I

tried multiple times to get it out of her,” Quinn said suggestively.

Henry smiled and shook his head. Sebastian barked out a laugh.

“What did you do, Quinn? Because it obviously didn’t work,” Sebastian said with a mischievous

smile.

“I swear, man, I did everything I could think of and she still would not tell me. I tied her to the bed

and made her come about five times in a row and she still would not tell me,” Quinn said, shaking
his head in wonder as if he still couldn’t believe that she hadn’t caved.

Henry and Sebastian laughed.

“Damn dude, I never expected you to be into that kind of stuff.” Sebastian chuckled.

Quinn’s smiled turned rakish and Henry had to do a double take. Who was this person? He was

still having a hard time getting used to this new, open, smiling and teasing Quinn.

“I’m usually not, but Margot got herself in trouble because she said, “Even if you tie me down, I

will not tell you,” Quinn said, mimicking Margot’s accent and raising his voice to a female falsetto.

Both Sebastian and Henry started cracking up. Oh man, Margot was one tough cookie. She had to

have known that Quinn would do exactly what she said…maybe that was what she intended all
along, sneaky little minx.

“Alright, that answers my first question. But what do you guys think about this whole baby

situation?” Henry asked after their laughter died down.

“What about it?” Quinn asked with a shrug.

“Well, Shea finds out tomorrow if he’s really the father or not. What if he’s not? Christian will be

devastated if they have to give that baby up,” Henry said grimly.

When Henry had gone over to meet the little baby, he had seen the way Christian looked at her.

Henry knew that look; he looked at his own kids like that. And Shea, he was still hesitant, but he had
fallen in love with her, too. They would both be shattered if it turned out that the baby wasn’t Shea’s.

“There’s nothing we can do if she’s not Shea’s,” Sebastian murmured sadly.

“In order for them to keep her, she would have to be Shea’s. Otherwise, they would have to give

her back, then apply to be foster parents, and hope to get her back that way,” Quinn said.

Sebastian groaned and rubbed his face. “It’s gonna be bad if Skylar’s not his.”

“She’s too young to really say whether or not she looks like him, ya know? We can’t go by that

either,” Quinn supplied.

Henry shook his head. “Let’s hope that the news tomorrow is good news.”

Sebastian and Quinn agreed.

~Chapter 10~

Shea groaned when he heard Skylar start to fuss. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, it

was 4:15 am; she was right on time. The kid ate exactly every three hours. They took turns getting up
with her and it was his turn. He didn’t want to get up, though, he was too fucking tired. They’ve been
only doing this for a week and Shea swore that he was going to die from sleep deprivation.

“The baby goat is crying,” Christian mumbled from under his pillow.

Shea smiled. He couldn’t help it. Christian had nicknamed her the baby goat because that’s what

she sounded like when she cried.

“I’m trying to get up, I swear,” Shea grumbled and rubbed his eyes.

Shea rolled out of bed and shuffled over to the dresser where they had a canister of formula and

bottles with water set up. Shea made a bottle then made his way over to Skylar while he shook it up.
He set the bottle on the floor next to the glider they bought then gathered up the squirming baby in his
arms and sat down in the glider. Skylar immediately latched onto the bottle as soon as it touched her
lips. Shea closed his eyes and rested his head back as he listened to her suck away.

Shea couldn’t get over how quickly this little baby came to mean everything to him. Tomorrow…

well, today really…was the day he would find out if Skylar were actually his. He couldn’t even
think about her not being his, it was too painful. He would be absolutely crushed if he was not her
father, and he knew Christian would be, too. The first few days, Shea tried to keep his heart locked
up tight, not wanting to care for her just in case she turned out not to be his, but it was impossible not
to fall in love with her. She was just so damn cute and helpless and Shea found that he wanted to
love her and give her everything she needed.

Skylar barely finished her bottle before she fell back to sleep on him. Shea sat her up to burp her

but he didn’t even have to pat her back, it came right out, making him chuckle. Baby burps were too
stinkin’ cute. Shea lifted Skylar up higher so that he could kiss her soft little cheeks before changing
her diaper, swaddling her back up, and putting her back in her bassinette. Shea crawled back into
bed with a tired groan. He snuggled up next to Christian and almost immediately fell back to sleep.

He was awoken again what seemed like only ten minutes later by the baby goat. Shea peeled open

an eye with his fingers to check the time, 7:30 am, Jesus Christ! He swore he had just fallen asleep;
at least that’s how he felt. Thank god he had taken this past week off of work. He probably would
have cut his arm off with a saw or nailed his hand to a stud with how exhausted he was. Christian
had also closed his studio for the week, which was good because he didn’t think Christian could
sleep and paint at the same time. He then heard Christian suck in a sharp breath as he sat straight up
and looked around frantically.

“Hey, you alright?” Shea asked, reached over to touch Christian’s thigh.

Christian blinked rapidly before scrubbing his hands roughly over his face and through his hair.

“Yeah…shit,” he rasped.

“Bad dream?” Shea asked.

“Yeah, just some crazy ass dream,” Christian murmured.

Christian swung his feet over the edge of the bed, sat there for a moment before standing up and

going over to the dresser to make a bottle. Shea raked an appraising gaze over his gorgeous
boyfriend in his sexy gray briefs.

“I feel like I didn’t sleep at all last night,” Christian muttered.

“I feel like I haven’t slept all week,” Shea replied.

Christian grunted in agreement as he shook up the bottle. He went over to the bassinette and

scooped Skylar up under her arms. “Aw, my little munchkin, are you hungry again?” he cooed,
kissing her cheek before settling down into the glider with her.

Shea smiled and tucked his hands behind his head as he watched Christian feed their daughter. His

smiled slowly faded. Did he really just think of Skylar as their daughter? Aw shit, he was so
screwed. Please God, let him be her biological father! He just couldn’t bear to give her up. Not
now, not after having her for this week and loving her like he did.

“I’m gonna get in the shower,” Shea said, getting out of bed.

Christian nodded, not even bothering to take his eyes off Skylar. Shea went over to him and kissed

the top of his head. “Love you,” Shea whispered.

“I love you, too.” Christian smirked.

Shea just finished his shower when Christian walked into the bathroom with Shea’s cell phone in

his hand, a grim look on his face. Shea’s heart lodged in his throat. Holy shit! This was it, the call
they had been waiting for. Christian held up the phone without a word. Shea could see the pulse on
his neck fluttering frantically. Christian was very anxious at the moment and Shea couldn’t blame
him, he was, too. He quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and took the phone.

“Hello?”

“Shea, its Jackie, how are you?” Jackie said pleasantly.

“Right now, I’m nervous as hell. Did you get the results?” Shea asked.

“I did,” Jackie replied.

Shea waited for a moment and when Jackie didn’t say, he spoke up, “Well? Don’t pause

dramatically like we’re on the Maury show or something, Jackie! Am I her father?”

“Yes, Shea, you are her father.” Jackie chuckled.

Shea’s knees almost gave out from the relief. He grabbed the edge of the sink to catch himself.

“Oh, thank you, sweet baby Jesus,.” Shea breathed, closing his eyes since they started to burn.

“Congratulations, Shea. I’m sure Skylar is in the best care with you and Christian. I wish you the

best of luck,” Jackie said.

“Thank you, Jackie. Thank you so much,” Shea said sincerely.

Shea hung up after saying goodbye and lifted his gaze to Christian, who was smiling from ear to

ear with tears running down his cheeks. Christian stepped into him, grabbing his face and kissing
him soundly. Shea’s breath caught from the intensity of the emotions that enveloped him, both his
own and Christian’s. He wrapped his arms around Christian, holding him tight. Their kiss turned
passionate and needy. Christian was still in his underwear, so Shea slipped his hands down the back
of them to grab his boyfriend’s firm ass. Christian moaned and nipped at Shea’s bottom lip.

Shea shoved Christian’s underwear down his thighs; Christian kicked them away when they fell to

the floor. Shea captured Christian’s lips again as he wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted
him onto the sink’s counter. Christian pulled to loosen the knot of Shea’s towel so that it fell away.
Shea tore his mouth away from Christian’s and grabbed the back of his knees so that he could pull
him to the edge of the counter. Christian leaned back on his hands, his eyes no longer teary but heavy
lidded with desire.

Shea pulled open the drawer to the right and pulled out a small bottle of lube. They had stashed

small bottles all over the house since they had a hard time keeping their hands off each other. Shea
poured some in his hand and smoothed it over himself, stroking a couple of times just because it felt
good. He then rubbed his dick over Christian’s hole to get it lubed up before he pushed his way in.
Christian gasped, his eyes locked on Shea’s.

“Fuck,” Shea ground out as he fully seated himself.

Christian let out a strangled moan that had Shea’s balls pulling tight. Shea grabbed the backs of

Christian’s thighs and pushed them up higher as he started to thrust. Christian clawed at his chest
with one hand as he set a fast and hard-paced rhythm.

“Shea! Jesus…Oh my god, Shea!” Christian panted.

“You gonna come for me, baby?” Shea grunted.

“Fuck…yessss,” Christian moaned, his eyes never leaving Shea’s.

Shea couldn’t remember them ever keeping eye contact this long but it was sexy as hell. Christian

cried out, Shea saw his abs tighten in his peripheral. Then Christian was coming and pulsing hard
around Shea’s cock. Shea gritted his teeth and slammed into Christian a couple more times before
losing it himself. They both panted heavily, still staring into each other eyes.

“Damn, I love you.” Shea breathed, grabbing the back of Christian’s neck and pulling him into a

sloppy kiss.

“I love you, too…so much,” Christian whispered between kisses.

After a lot of grunting and groaning, they separated and got cleaned up. Christian then went to call

his family and give them the good news. Shea was fucking ecstatic. They had a daughter and she was
actually theirs, no need to go through all of the hassle of adopting a baby. Maybe if they ever
decided to have more kids, they could find a surrogate and use Christian’s sperm, then they would
have a kid from each of them. Shea smiled, he liked that idea.

Christian couldn’t get the smile off of his face. Ever since Shea and he got the news yesterday

morning, he could do nothing but smile. Skylar was officially theirs. There was nothing left to worry
about; she would never be taken away from them. They could live their lives and love their baby and
each other. Life was good. Christian never thought he would ever be so happy.

“I have never seen you smile so much, Chris.” Quinn smirked, wrapping his arm around

Christian’s shoulders.

Christian’s whole family was over their house to celebrate, because that’s what the Beck family

did whenever there was a cause to celebrate anything. Christian glanced over at his brother.

“I’ve never had a reason,” Christian replied.

Quinn grunted in agreement and gave him a squeeze before moving on to go sit with Margot, who

was holding Skylar and cooing to her in French. Shea was talking with Henry, Sebastian, and Henry
Sr. Claire and Raelynn were sitting with Anne in the kitchen. Ethan and little Henry were running
back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. And both Adalyn and Michael were standing at
the coffee table, ripping apart a magazine that was in front of them. Christian has seriously never
been so happy in his entire life. Everything has just fallen into place for him.

A pair of arms slipped around his waist as someone came up next to him. Christian lifted his arm

and looked over to find his mother smiling up at him. Christian smiled back and put his arm around

her shoulders. Anne laid her head on his chest and patted his stomach.

“My baby, I love seeing you so happy,” Anne said quietly.

Christian hummed his agreement as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

“I’m so proud of you, Christian. You have really grown into a wonderful man,” Anne said.

Christian could actually hear the pride in her voice.

Christian’s heart swelled close to bursting. “Thanks, mom.”

“Give me the little munchkin, you baby hog,” Henry’s deep raspy voice said from across the

room.

Christian looked up to see him standing in front of Margot, holding out his hands. Margot was

glaring up at him. “Non! You have your own children to hold, I need the practice!” she argued,
apparently not wanting to give Skylar up.

“I want to hold Skylar. I’ve held my kids a million times.”

“Non, I am not giving her up,” Margot said, lifting her chin stubbornly.

“Quinn, help me out here.” Henry grunted.

Quinn shook his head and sighed. “Man, don’t drag me into the middle of this.”

“Pussy,” Henry sneered at him.

“Hey!” Quinn frowned, pointing at him. “I like having sex with my wife, thank you very much.”

Anne groaned. “Not something I want to know about. I’m going back into the kitchen,” she

muttered as she walked away.

Henry and Margot continued to argue until Skylar started crying. Christian stepped in and took her

from Margot. It was time for her to eat now.

“Now look at what you did,” Henry accused Margot.

Margot gasped in outrage and shot to her feet. “Moi? Non! She was fine until you came over

here!”

Christian could see the sparkle of amusement in Henry’s green eyes and the subtle twitch of his

lips; he thought it was funny to get Margot all riled up. Quinn was pinching the bridge of his nose as
he shook his head.

“She got frustrated because she couldn’t understand a damn word you were saying,” Henry

retorted.

Sebastian barked out a laugh. Quinn groaned loudly and dropped his head to the back of the couch.

Shea and Henry Sr. were trying to hide their smiles. Margot’s eyes flashed furiously as she stomped
over to Henry who was smiling smugly with his arms crossed over his chest. This was not going to
end well for Henry; Christian had no idea what he was thinking, messing around with Margot.

Christian bounced Skylar, trying to get her to quiet down a bit. He wanted to see how this panned

out before leaving the room. Margot stopped in front of Henry, who towered over her.

“Oh, you think you are so funny, Oui?” Margot smiled sweetly.

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Of course I am,” he scoffed.

Margot’s hand flicked out so fast that Christian barely caught it. The next thing Christian knew,

Henry was doubled over, one hand cupping his injured balls while the other rested on his knee so he
didn’t completely crumple to the floor. All of the men in the room were wincing.

“You bitch,” Henry ground out then gagged loudly. “I was just screwing with you.”

Margot smiled brightly. “I know,” she chirped as she spun away and flipped her hair over her

shoulder before walking past Christian and into the kitchen.

Christian chuckled.

“Oh god, I seriously might throw up.” Henry wheezed.

“Not on the rug! Go to the bathroom!” Shea exclaimed.

“I can’t move!” Henry cried.

Adalyn walked over to him, holding onto the coffee table for balance. She patted Henry’s leg, her

big blue eyes looking up at him. “Da-Da?”

Henry gave her a tight smile. “Hi, sweetheart.”

Adalyn smiled, showing off her cute little teeth. “Da-Da!”

Henry pulled in a deep breath and blew it out. “Jesus, that hurt,” he grumbled as he straightened

up some.

“That’ll teach you to mess with Margot,” Quinn said with a pointed look.

Henry shot him the finger. Christian shook his head at his crazy family and took Skylar into the

kitchen to get her a bottle.

~Chapter 11~

The past three months have been a multitude of things for Shea, exhausting being one of them.

Skylar was just finally starting to sleep through the night, though. Shea had gone back to work the
week after they brought Skylar home. Christian stayed home another two weeks after that to give
Henry a chance to find a new assistant. Claire decided to stop working and become the family
daycare. Shea and Christian loved her for it. They were both stressing out about putting her into
daycare, neither of them wanted to do it. Christian was even considering closing down his studio to
become a stay-at-home dad. But Claire announced that she was going to stop working and would
take care of the kids. She was an amazing woman. Henry was not overly ecstatic about it, but he
didn’t argue with her, which Shea was glad for.

“Shea, come out with us tonight,” his buddy Greg said as he helped Shea put up kitchen cabinets.

“Eh, I don’t know…” Shea hedged.

“Come on, dude, you haven’t come out with us in months,” Dan chimed in. Dan was another one of

the guys that worked under him.

“I have a three month old at home,” Shea said defensively.

“I’m sure Christian wouldn’t mind if you came out one night,” Greg said.

“I don’t know.” Shea sighed.

“Just ask, the worst he can say is no,” Dan offered.

Shea rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Shea got home at around 6:00 pm. He took a shower then sat down with Christian at the table to

eat the dinner that he made. Skylar was sleeping in her swing in the living room. Christian made a
delicious pasta dish that Shea couldn’t help but scarf down.

“Chris, would you mind if I went out with a few of guys from work tonight?” Shea asked as he

spooned another helping into his bowl.

“No, not at all, as long as I get to go out another night,” Christian replied.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Shea agreed.

“Where are you going?” Christian asked curiously.

“Just to Mac’s Tavern, nothing fancy, just going to hang out for a few hours,” Shea told him.

Christian nodded. “Okay.”

So after dinner, Shea helped Christian clean up the kitchen, then he gave him and Skylar a kiss

before heading out to the bar to meet up with the guys from work. Shea had told them all about him
being bi and the relationship he was in with Christian. Surprisingly, they had all been extremely
supportive about it. He was expecting at least one of the guys to be homophobic and have a problem
with it, but no, they were all cool.

Shea hadn’t realized how much he had needed to get out. He was definitely more relaxed and de-

stressed by the time he left to head home. He would make sure Christian got his night out soon, he
was sure he needed it just as badly.

As Shea got closer to his house, he had to pull to the side to let a police car and fire engine by. He

really didn’t think anything of it, they lived in the city, police and fire engines ran rampant at all
times of the day. Then an ambulance had him pulling to the side again a few minutes later.

Shea turned onto their block and slammed on the brakes. He stared at the scene in front of him, not

fully comprehending what was going on. There were police cars, two fire engines, and a couple of
ambulances crammed onto his street, in front of his house. Shea blinked, put his truck in park and
looked over at the houses to see which one they were there for. The night his parents and sister died
flashed through his mind when he saw the smoke billowing up from his roof.

Horror. Pure, unadulterated horror was all that Shea felt as he shoved open his door and got out

of his truck. NO! Shea started forward, taking a few steps before bursting into a full out run. Shea
scanned the crowd of people who were out front, milling around, watching everything that was going
on. No Christian and no Skylar. Could they possibly still be in the house? Shea almost threw up right
then and there.

“CHRISTIAN!” Shea screamed as he sprinted up his front walkway, blowing past the police

keeping people at a distance.

Shea heard them shout at him to stop but that was not going to happen. There were firefighters

lined up just outside the front door getting ready to go in. Shea wasn’t going to wait; he needed to get
to his baby and the love of his life. There was no way he would let the rest of his family die the
same way his parents and sister died.

Shea shoved his way past a couple of firefighters who tried to grab him just as they kicked in the

door. The black smoke that poured out of the front door momentarily stunned Shea. He stopped long
enough that a cop was able to run up and grab him and start pulling him away.

“NO! MY FAMILY IS IN THERE!” he screamed, tearing himself out of their grasp.

Shea barreled past the firefighters and into the smoke and flame filled house. He could barely see

past the smoke as he started up the stairs. He pulled the collar of his T-shirt over his nose and mouth,
but he still started coughing. He crouched low when he got to the top of the stairs and made his way
toward the front bedroom, which was Christian and his room. The smoke filled the hallway almost
from ceiling to floor. Oh God! Please, let them be okay! Shea made it to the bedroom door, which

was closed. Shea was just about to open it when he heard a whoosh and then a roaring behind him.
Shea turned to see that the back room, the one at the top of the stairs, was fully engulfed in flames.
That was the room that Christian used as his closet, and now there was no way Shea was going to be
able to leave the same way he came in. The fire was too intense and close to the stairs. Fuck! They
were all going to die. Shea would rather die with Christian and Skylar than be left to mourn them,
though. Shea hacked hard and turned back to the bedroom door.

Shea quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind him. The room was not as smoke filled as

the rest of the house, but there was still a lot. Shea rushed over to the bassinette where Skylar was
laying. He checked the pulse on her neck, she was still alive, but she didn’t so much as move a
muscle when he touched her, which meant that she was most likely unconscious from smoke
inhalation. Shea went to the bed next; Christian was sprawled out on his stomach in his underwear.
Shea turned him over. He was also unconscious and complete dead weight when Shea flipped him
over.

Shea smacked his face hard. “Christian! Chris, wake up!” Shea yelled before checked his pulse.

He was still alive, too, thank fucking Christ!

Shea looked around the room, trying to figure out what he should do next. First, he grabbed the

comforter off the bed and stuffed it against the bottom of the door to stop some of the smoke from
coming into the room. Next, he ran over to the windows. He opened one and pushed out the screen.
They had the kind of windows that you could open in toward you for easy cleaning, which also made
them easy to remove. Shea removed the bottom pane of glass then removed the top half. The smoke
that had settled in the room started to pour out.

“HEY! UP HERE!” Shea screamed, waving at the firefighters down below.

One of them pointed at him making them all spring into action. They grabbed a ladder, setting it up

right under the window; one guy held it in place at the bottom while another started climbing.

“Are you fucking crazy, man?” The firefighter snapped at him when he made it to the top. “You

could have been killed!”

“There are a three-month old baby girl and a twenty-nine year old man in this room,” Shea said,

ignoring what the guy said.

“Jesus Christ…hand me the baby first,” he said.

Shea ducked back into the room and grabbed Skylar. His stomach rolled at how limp her body

was. Shea handed her out to the firefighter then went back for Christian. Shea blinked away tears,
not sure if they were from the smoke or the emotions roiling through him. He pulled Christian up into
a sitting position so that he could hook him under his arms and drag him over to the window. He had
just tugged Christian off the bed when a couple of firefighters came through the window. One of them
came over and hoisted Christian’s slack body up over his shoulder.

“Get the hell out of here!” he said, his voice muffled by his oxygen mask and shoved Shea toward

the window.

Shea nodded, coughing hard as he started toward the window. The smoke was really starting to

get to him, and he was actually becoming lightheaded. The other fireman was standing by the
window, and helped Shea out of the window and onto the ladder. Shea stepped off the latter and fell
to his hands and knees from a horrendous coughing fit that racked him; he coughed so hard that he
swore his lungs were going to come up his throat. He watched through blurry eyes as the firefighter
carried Christian down the ladder. Christian just hung over the guy’s shoulder, arms dangling limply.
That was the last thing he saw because he passed the hell out, face first on the front lawn.

“Sebastian! Sebastian, come here!” Raelynn called from the kitchen. Sebastian frowned at the

franticness in her voice.

He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. He found Raelynn leaning in close to the

police scanner she had on the counter, her face screwed up in concern.

“What’s going on, sweet cheeks?” Sebastian asked, going to stand next to her.

“I think…I think Christian’s house is on fire,” Raelynn said warily.

“What?” Sebastian squawked.

They listened for a moment. Sebastian couldn’t understand a word of it, but he knew Raelynn

understood. After a moment, Raelynn gasped and straightened up. When she looked up at him,
Sebastian’s stomach dropped at the grim look on her face.

“What? What did it say?” Sebastian asked frantically.

“It’s Christian’s house. One adult male ran into the burning home before the firemen. One infant

female and one adult male were found unconscious in bed.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Sebastian cried and ran for the front door.

He glanced at the clock on the cable box and saw that it was midnight. Henry and Quinn were

probably sleeping, but he had to call them. Sebastian shoved his bare feet into his sneakers, grabbed
his keys then raced out the door without even saying goodbye to Raelynn.

While speeding toward Christian’s house – which was only ten minutes from his own – he called

Henry. Henry in turn called Quinn. Sebastian pulled onto Christian’s block behind Shea’s truck,
which was parked in the middle of the street. He got out and ran toward the horrific scene in front of
him. Sebastian hasn’t felt this kind of fear since they thought Henry died in that plane crash. As
Sebastian got closer, he saw that Shea was laying face first on the front lawn and a fireman had
Christian over his shoulder as he carried him down the ladder from the second floor window.
Christian was dangling lifelessly over the guy’s shoulder in nothing but his black boxer/briefs.
Sebastian rushed forward only to be stopped by a police officer just before he stepped onto the
property.

“Hold on there, pal, we already had one maniac run into the house, we don’t need another one,”

the officer said.

“I’m not running into the house, but that’s my brother they are carrying out,” Sebastian said as

calmly as possible.

The officer glanced over his shoulder then looked back at Sebastian and gave him a tight nod

before moving aside. Sebastian thanked him and ran for the fireman who was carrying Christian
toward the EMT with a gurney that was running to meet him. Sebastian made it to him just as the
fireman placed Christian on the gurney. Christian was out cold and looking a bit blue.

“Oh, Jesus.” Sebastian breathed, frozen in place as he watched the EMT rush Christian toward the

ambulance.

Sebastian heard one of them yell that he needed to be intubated. Sebastian turned to look at Shea.

Two EMTs had rushed over with a backboard and gurney and were rolling him onto the backboard
and putting a neck brace on him. They strapped him in then lifted him onto the gurney and started for
a second ambulance.

“Hey, where are you taking them?” Sebastian asked as they walked by.

“Aria Hospital,” one answered.

“And the baby?” Sebastian asked.

“The baby is going to CHOP.”

Sebastian nodded. “Thanks.”

The fireman who carried Christian out stopped next to him. “Are you family?” he asked.

“Yeah, you just carried my brother out,” Sebastian said.

“Who is the other guy to you?” he fireman asked curiously.

“He’s my brother’s boyfriend,” Sebastian answered.

The fireman shook his head. “That crazy motherfucker just saved your brother’s life, and the

baby’s, too. We would not have made it in time,” the fireman said, awed and saddened at the same
time.

Sebastian gaped at fireman as he walked away still shaking his head. Sebastian slowly made his

way back to his truck. He called Henry back and told him to go right to Children’s hospital.
Sebastian was going to head to Aria. Henry agreed and said he would tell Quinn to go to Aria, too.
Sebastian got in his truck; his heart was pounding furiously, and Christian’s face with its blue tint
was permanently burned into his brain. His little brother could possibly die and so could his niece.
How long had they been in that smoke and fire? Sebastian raced toward the hospital, hoping like hell
that Christian and Skylar were going to be alright.

Shea dragged open his eyes and groaned. His throat was killing him, and he felt like he had an

elephant sitting on his chest. What the fuck happened? Someone touched his arm. He turned his head
to see Sebastian’s grimly set face looking at him. Shea frowned at him.

“Sebastian?” he croaked.

“Hey, buddy,” Sebastian said. “Doing okay?”

“Wha…” Shea started, not understanding what was going on at first but stopped when everything

that happened came rushing back.

Moments of what happened flashed through his mind - seeing his house of fire, finding Skylar and

Christian unconscious in bed, how limp Skylar’s body was when he picked her up, the way
Christian’s arms dangled over his head as the firefighter carried him down the ladder. Shea sat up in
a panic and looked around frantically. Oh shit! He was in a hospital room!

“Christian and Skylar!” Shea cried frantically and tore off his blankets.

He had no idea if they were alive or not. He had to get to them! Sebastian stood from the chair he

had been sitting in and grabbed his face.

“Shea! Shea, calm down, they’re okay,” Sebastian assured him, sitting down on the bed next to

him.

“Where?” he asked hoarsely, grabbing Sebastian’s shirt with both hands.

“Christian is in a room down the hall and Skylar is at CHOP. Henry, Claire, and my parents are

with her; Quinn is with Christian.”

A ragged sob escaped Shea as a wave of relief hit him so fucking hard. He squeezed his eyes shut

and sagged forward against Sebastian, his forehead dropping to his shoulder. Sebastian wrapped his
arms around him.

“What you did, Shea, was so fucking stupid, but if you hadn’t run in there like you did, my brother

and niece would be dead. A fireman and the doctor said five more minutes and they wouldn’t have
made it. The firefighters would have taken too long to get to them,” Sebastian whispered.

Shea almost passed the hell out. He almost lost his family again! Sebastian said only minutes

separated them from life and death. He came so close to losing the two loves of his life. He would
not have been able to survive it if they had perished. He knew without a doubt that he would take his
own life before living in this world without Christian and Skylar.

Sebastian silently held him and waited patiently for him to pull himself back together. Sebastian

might be the jokester of the family, but he could be stone cold serious when the moment called for it.
Shea pulled back, Sebastian grabbed the box of tissues from the side table, and handed it to Shea.
Shea yanked out a couple, blew his nose, and dried his face.

“Did…” Shea started but had to stop to clear his throat. The smoke he inhaled had done some

damage, that was for sure. “…Did they say how it started?” he asked, his voice rough.

Sebastian sat back down in the chair next to the bed. “I was told that the fire started in the dryer;

Christian must have turned it on before he went to bed,” he said with a frown.

Shea stared at him for a moment. “Have you not talked to Christian?” he asked in confusion.

Sebastian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “They have Christian in a medically induced

coma because they had to intubate him. His throat had swelled shut from all of the smoke and soot
that he had inhaled,” Sebastian said sadly.

Shea flinched as if slapped. Oh God! “What about Skylar?” he whispered.

“She had to be intubated at first, too, but she was able to be taken off of it a couple of hours ago.

She just has the tubes up her nose now,” Sebastian said.

Shock…Shea was in shock. He opened his mouth a few times to say something but nothing came

out. Shea scrubbed his hands over his hair. “This is a nightmare,” he whispered, which was a lot
easier on his throat.

“Yes it is,” Sebastian agreed.

“How long have I been out?”

“I would say a good twelve hours,” Sebastian replied. “The doctor gave you something to keep

you under for a little while.”

Shea closed his eyes and dropped his head back to his pillow. He covered his face with his

hands. “Is the house completely gone?”

“Yes.” Sebastian sighed heavily.

Shea wanted to scream. He had so many emotions building up inside of him right now that he felt

like he was going to explode! He had to do something before he burst. He yanked his pillow out
from under his head and covered his face with it. He screamed bloody murder until he had no voice
left. When he put the pillow back behind his head, he glanced at Sebastian who was smirking at him.

“Feel better?” he asked.

Shea nodded jerkily.

“Okay, how about I go get a nurse and see if you can go visit Christian,” Sebastian suggested and

stood.

Shea nodded since his voice was completely gone. Sebastian went to get a nurse, who came in,

took out the catheter that he didn’t even realize was in, got him into a wheelchair, and hung his IV on
the rack attached to the wheelchair. He wasn’t allowed to walk around on his own, yet. Sebastian
pushed him down the hall to Christian’s room.

Sebastian knocked on the closed door of a room a few doors down before opening it and peeking

his head in. He then opened the door wider and rolled Shea in. Quinn was sitting next to the bed, his
arms crossed over his chest, a blank expression on his face as he stared at Christian. Shea hasn’t
seen Quinn look like that in months. Shea turned his attention toward Christian, and thank God he
was sitting, because he felt like his knees would have given out on him. Christian was laying there,
tubes and wires coming out from everywhere, with machines beeping and clicking. This was his
worst nightmare. Quinn glanced up, his expression never changing.

“Shea, how are you?” Quinn asked quietly.

Sebastian rolled Shea over to the side of Christian’s bed. Shea looked at Quinn and shrugged.

“Shea screamed his voice away,” Sebastian said, his lips twitching.

Quinn raised an eyebrow, but that was it. He didn’t say anything, and nothing else on his face

changed, it was really freaky. Shea turned his attention back to Christian. He hated seeing him like
this. Shea reached forward and slid his hand over Christian’s forearm. His stomach turned when
Christian didn’t even so much as twitch. He hung his head, grateful that Christian was alive, but him

being unconscious was torture for Shea.

Sebastian stepped up to the bed next to Shea and put his hand on Christian’s blanket covered thigh.

“Has he gotten any better?” Sebastian asked Quinn.

Quinn nodded. “The swelling in his throat is starting to go down. The doctor said they should be

able to get him off the ventilator in a day or two,” he said quietly.

Shea sagged in relief. That was good news. Now he just needed to find out how Skylar was doing.

Shea tapped Sebastian’s leg to get his attention. Sebastian looked down at him and waited.

Shea mouthed, “Skylar,” to Sebastian, who frowned hard in confusion.

“Tiger? What the hell are you trying to say?”

Shea rolled his eyes and mouthed Skylar’s name a couple more times. Sebastian shook his head.

“Tyler? Sky mall? Skeet ball? Dude, I am so not getting what you’re saying.” Sebastian grunted.

Quinn sat on the other side of the bed, covering his mouth to try to hide his smile, but Shea knew

he was laughing because his shoulders were shaking. Shea glared at Quinn and motioned for him to
help. Quinn cleared his throat.

“Skylar, asshole, he wants you to find out how Skylar is,” Quinn said, and then muttered,

“Dumbass.”

“Oooh, I get it now…Skylar…man, you’ve got to work on your pronunciation.” Sebastian snorted

and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Quinn snickered.

Sebastian called Henry and found out that Skylar was doing just fine and might even be discharged

tomorrow morning. Shea was so fucking happy about that. Henry said that Claire and he would take
care of her for as long as Shea needed, which was so nice of them. Henry and Claire were Skylar’s
godparents and named in Shea’s Will as her guardians if something were to happen to Christian and
him.

After about an hour of sitting by Christian’s bed, Sebastian took Shea back to his room so that the

doctor could check him, and he can get some more rest. The doctor said that he would most likely be
discharge tomorrow morning, which he was happy about.

“Alright man, I’m gonna head out, is that okay?” Sebastian asked, patting Shea’s leg.

“It’s fine,” Shea whispered since he got some of his voice back.

“Okay, give me a call in the morning and let me know what time they are going to discharge you,”

he said.

“I will,” Shea agreed.

Shea then got a surprise when Sebastian leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “I’m glad

you’re okay, brother,” he murmured before giving Shea’s face a pat and walking out.

Shea was still staring in shock at the door when it opened and Quinn walked in. Quinn gave him a

small smile as he walked over to the bed, his hands shoved into his jean pockets.

“Listen, Shea…ah…you, Christian, and Skylar are welcome to stay with Margot and me until you

find a new house. We have plenty of room now that we have a house, and I know Margot is dying to
get some practice in with handling a baby, so…” Quinn said, trailing off with a shrug.

“Thank you, Quinn. That would be great. I’m sure Christian would agree,” Shea whispered

sincerely, giving Quinn a grateful smile.

Quinn nodded. “Great, I’ll make sure the spare rooms are ready for you and Skylar since it looks

like you are both going to be freed tomorrow,” he said with a smirk.

Shea smiled. “Okay, thanks again.”

“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Quinn said then moved in to give Shea a hug.

Shea hugged him back. All of this brotherly affection was making his eyes watery. Quinn left and

Shea’s room was suddenly too quiet. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV before closing his
eyes and trying to get some more sleep.

~Chapter 12~

Henry rocked slowly in the glider that was in Adalyn’s room, only he wasn’t holding his daughter,

he was holding Christian and Shea’s daughter. She was lying across his chest with her face snuggled
up under his neck, passed out cold. Henry knew he should put her in the crib, but he just couldn’t do
it yet. The poor thing had been through so much the past few days, and he just wanted to hold her and
comfort her.

Shea was with Christian at the hospital. They were going to take him off the ventilator today and

bring him out of his medically induced coma. The swelling in his throat had gone down and he
should be able to breathe on his own. When Sebastian had called him and told him what was going
on, he thought that he was going to be burying his youngest brother and niece. He would never be
able to thank Shea enough for what he did, even if it was the stupidest thing he could have ever done.

A light knock on the doorframe brought Henry’s head up. Claire, his beautiful wife, was standing

there with a soft smile on her face. She glanced at Skylar and cocked her head to the side, her face
softening with love.

“She’s sleeping?” Claire asked quietly, her bright blue eyes lifting to meet his.

“Yeah,” Henry replied and rubbed the baby’s back.

“Is she still wheezing?” Claire asked with a small frown.

“Only slightly, it’s definitely getting better.”

Claire nodded and moved into the room, her strawberry blonde hair braided and hanging over one

shoulder. She walked over to Henry and dropped a kiss on his lips before standing next to him with
her hand on his shoulder.

“I know Christian and Shea are going to get insurance money for the house, but I don’t know how

long it’s going to take for them to get it. I want to give them some money to at least get clothes and
other essentials that they’ve lost. Is that okay with you?” Henry asked, looking up at Claire.

“Of course it is, Henry. You didn’t have to ask me,” Claire said.

“We make all money decisions together, this is no different,” he said.

“I know, but Christian is your brother, and I will never go against you helping out your family

when they need it,” Claire replied.

Henry smiled. “Thank you, Darlin’.”

“You are very welcome,” she murmured and kissed him again.

“I love you,” Henry whispered against her lips.

“I love you, too.”

Shea showed up at around 9:00 that night to pick up Skylar, then head to Quinn’s, since that’s

where they were staying. Shea looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. Claire was feeding
Skylar her last bottle of the night in the living room when Shea walked in. Shea smiled at his
daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“How was she?” Shea asked softly.

“Fine, no problems. She’s a good baby,” Henry answered.

Shea nodded. “Yeah, she is,” he agreed, smiling lovingly down at her.

“Shea, can you come into the office for a minute?” Henry asked and motioned with his head in that

direction.

“Yeah, sure,” Shea said and followed Henry into the office.

Henry went over to the desk and opened the drawer where he put the envelope of money that he

took out of his safe. He then handed Shea the envelope. Shea frowned and eyed it warily.

“What is this?” he asked.

“A gift to hold you over until your insurance check comes in,” Henry answered.

Shea’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Henry, no…”

Henry held up his hand and cut Shea off. “Please. You’ve been in the same outfit for three days

because you won’t borrow Quinn’s clothes. You need things, and I want you to get them,” Henry
said firmly.

“How much is in here?” Shea asked tightly.

“Ten thousand.”

Shea’s mouth dropped open and he started shaking his head furiously. He tossed the envelope

back on the desk. “No, no I can’t accept that, Henry, it’s too much.”

Henry grabbed the envelope and shoved it back into Shea’s hands. “Shea, this is not up for

discussion. Take the money, buy clothes for the three of you, get Skylar everything she needs, and be
grateful I’m not buying you a house, because believe me, I’ve thought about it,” Henry said with a
pointed look.

Shea paled slightly. “Oh god, please don’t do that.”

“Then take the money,” Henry insisted.

“I’ll pay you back,” Shea said.

“The fuck you will.” Henry snorted. “Don’t even think about it, I won’t take it. I have money to

spare and this is how I choose to use it. I can never thank you enough for saving my brother and
niece, but this makes me feel like I’ve at least done something for you in return.”

Shea nodded. “Thank you, Henry, I really appreciate it,” he said humbly.

Henry pulled Shea into a hug. “I love you, man, you know that right?”

Shea nodded again. “I love you, too,” he whispered.

They separated and headed back out into the living room. Claire was burping Skylar. She smiled

at them when they walked in.

“Let me know if you need help shopping for Skylar, I love buying girls clothes,” Claire smiled.

Shea smirked. “Okay, I will.”

Henry and Claire helped Shea gather up the small amount of things that he still had for Skylar and

followed him out to his truck. It was the stuff they kept in a diaper bag in Christian’s car – the only
stuff not burned in the house. Shea thanked them and gave them both a hug before getting into the
truck and leaving. Henry put his arm around Claire’s shoulders and pulled her close. Claire patted
his chest.

“I’m so glad that Shea and Christian are together,” Claire said.

“Yeah, I really don’t think they could have done any better than each other,” Henry mused.

Christian sighed in relief when the doctor said that he was good to go and could be released from

the hospital. A week was enough; he was ready to go home…well, not to his home…Quinn’s home.
The swelling in his throat had gone down by the third day of him being in the hospital. They brought
him out of his medically induced coma, but kept him in the hospital for another four days, just to
make sure that his throat and lungs were healing and not getting worse.

He was still in shock that this happened, that he and Skylar almost died, but Shea saved them. He

ran into a burning house before the firefighters and saved them. Christian was in awe of his lover
and best friend. Every time Christian looked at him now, the love he felt for the man grew tenfold.

It took another three hours before the nurse came in with the discharge papers. By that time,

Christian had taken a shower and got dressed in the new clothes that Shea had brought him. Shea told
him about Henry’s generous gift, and honestly, he wasn’t all that surprised. He knew his brother, and
his brother liked to help his family when he could. And when it came to money, he most certainly
could. So Shea had gone out and bought Christian a few starter outfits. They weren’t anything
Christian would normally buy, but Shea admitted to not having a clue, so T-shirts and jeans it was.

“Ready to go?” Shea asked.

“God, yes,” Christian replied, his voice still hoarse.

Shea smiled and held out his hand. Christian smiled in return and threaded his fingers in Shea’s.

They walked out of the hospital together and headed for Quinn’s house where everyone was going to
be to celebrate him coming home from the hospital. His family was nuts, but he loved them just the
same.

Christian was showered with hugs and kisses and he finally got to see Skylar. She wasn’t allowed

to visit him in the hospital because she was too young. Christian hugged and kissed her and fought
back the tears that threatened to fall. Thank god she was okay. After hearing how the fire started, he
felt like it was his fault, and that she had been put in danger because of him. Shea tried to convince
him that it was just a freak accident, but he still felt that way about it.

Later on that night, after everyone left and Skylar was asleep, Christian and Shea got into bed

together. Shea lay down on his back and Christian crawled over and wrapped his body around him.
Shea sighed contently and kissed Christian’s forehead as he hugged him tight.

“I missed you,” Shea murmured quietly.

“I missed you, too,” Christian sighed, snuggling his face into Shea’s neck.

“I’m so fucking glad you’re home.” Shea grunted as his hand snaked down Christian’s back to

squeeze his ass.

Christian kissed Shea’s neck and rolled his hips forward. Just being this close to Shea again had

him hard and ready to go. His cock rubbed along Shea’s, which was also hard. Shea shoved a hand
into Christian’s hair and pulled his head up so that he could kiss him. Shea rolled them over so that
he was on top. He kissed Christian with a desperation that Christian had never felt from him before.

“God, I love you,” Shea rasped as he dragged his mouth down to Christian’s neck.

“I love you, too,” Christian whispered.

Shea kissed his way down Christian’s body, stopping only to bite his nipples. Christian had to

stifle his shout because they were in Quinn’s house and they couldn’t be loud. Shea rose to his knees
and tugged Christian’s underwear off. Shea then shoved Christian’s knees apart and immediately
took his cock into his mouth. Christian shoved his fist between his teeth to keep from crying out. His
other hand went to rest on top of Shea’s head. Christian’s hips flexed in time with Shea’s
movements, digging his head back into the pillow, struggling to keep his moans inside. A knock on
the door right before it opened brought Christian’s head up. To his horror, Quinn walked in.

“Hey guys, I just wanted…Fuck!” Quinn cried out as his eyes widened on the scene in front of

him. He quickly slapped a hand over his eyes and turned around. “Shit, fuck, shit, sorry!”

Shea’s mouth came off him with a pop and Christian saw Quinn’s whole body cringe and couldn’t

stop the smile that curled his lips. “Dude, what the fuck? Don’t you know how to wait for an answer
before opening the door?” Shea snapped, looking over his shoulder at Quinn.

“Fuck, I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking you’d be sucking my brother’s dick for Christ’s sake!” Quinn

groaned painfully.

“Just be glad that Shea still has his underwear on. Otherwise, you’d have gotten a whole lot of ass

and balls in your face.” Christian laughed.

Quinn groaned again and shook his head. “Shut up, Christian. I so did not need that visual in my

head.”

“What did you want?” Shea asked.

“I just wanted to see if you guys needed anything before I went to bed,” Quinn said.

“Yeah, privacy.” Christian chuckled.

“Goddammit,” Quinn muttered. “I could have gone my whole life without seeing that,” he said as

he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Christian covered his face and laughed. Shea got up and quickly locked the door before he hopped

back on the bed.

“Shall I continue?” he asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, please,” Christian growled, all humor gone in an instant.

Shea smiled seductively as he leaned back over to take Christian back into his mouth. Christian’s

breath caught. Shea was getting really good at blowjobs; he remembered everything that Christian
said that he likes and applied it, usually sending him over the edge in a couple of minutes.

Shea only continued for a minute before he pulled back and got rid of his underwear. Christian lay

there panting while Shea grabbed the lube from the nightstand. Shea then kissed him as he slathered
lube on both of them.

“I want to be inside of you when you come,” Shea whispered huskily against his lips.

Christian moaned low in response. Those were the best orgasms in his book. Shea grabbed him

and flipped him over, yanking him up to his hands and knees. Christian felt a rush of excitement.
They haven’t done it this way in a while, usually liking to be face to face. He also liked when Shea
manhandled him a bit, turned him on big time. Instead of a cock, a finger entered him, making him
gasp.

Shea curled his body over Christian’s back and nipped at his ear. “How bad do you want me?” he

asked, shoving another finger inside as emphasis.

Christian choked back a moan. “So bad.” He breathed.

Shea replaced his fingers with his cock and buried himself to the hilt. Christian let out a strangled

cry that he hoped wasn’t too loud. Shea rolled his hips, thrusting in deep. Christian swore it was the
deepest he’s ever gone. Shea gasped and dropped his forehead to Christian’s back, right between his
shoulder blades.

“Jesus, Chris, you feel so fucking good.” Shea panted.

Christian couldn’t respond, the pleasure was too much, so intense that he couldn’t speak. Christian

could feel his orgasm building and he wasn’t even touching himself. As if Shea read his mind, his
hand came around to grip his cock tightly. Christian lost it. He came hard as Shea continued to pound
into him. Shea came moments later, pressing his face into Christian’s back to muffle his cry of
ecstasy. They collapsed to the bed together and lay there trying to catch their breaths for a good five
minutes before they cleaned up, got back in bed, and went to sleep.

Over the next four months, Shea and Christian worked with Quinn, Margot, and the construction

company that Shea worked for, Platt and Sons, to rebuild their house. They built basically the same
size house, just with a different, more open floor plan. They also made the master bedroom a bit
bigger and added a full bathroom to it. They continued to stay with Quinn and Margot until it was
finished. Shea actually liked being able to see Margot every day and watch as her pregnant belly
grew. By the time the house was ready, Margot was getting very large and very cranky, so it was
good that they were moving out when they were. Quinn was becoming afraid for their lives as it

was, so staying for another month and a half was not a good idea.

Once the house was completely finished, painted and everything, Shea and Christian went out and

bought all new furniture. As soon as the essentials were delivered, like the couches, bed and kitchen
table, they moved in. It wasn’t like there was a lot to move in either since they didn’t have much.
They chose to wait to buy a lot of stuff until the house was ready. Shea knew that Christian planned
to finally replenish his wardrobe with some of the money from Henry, he hated not having all of his
stylish clothes; Shea could tell from the huffing and puffing he did every time he got dressed.

Shea was in love with their new house, and a lot of it had to do with the fact that he helped design

and build it. Quinn and Margot did a fabulous job making it practical and functional yet updated and
modern. It was also completely child proofed since Skylar was now eight months and starting to
crawl.

The garage had been damaged by the fire, but not destroyed. Most of Christian’s paintings were

able to be recovered in perfect condition, along with his guitar. They ended up tearing down the
garage anyway and building Christian a studio where he could paint and play his guitar in comfort.
No more musty smell from the dust and age of the garage.

Everything was coming together for Shea and Christian. Shea couldn’t be happier - he had the man

he loved and a daughter that he absolutely adored. Growing up, Shea never pictured that this was
how his life was going to be. He never in a million years thought that he would be in love with his
best friend, who is another guy. He never thought that he would be raising a child with another man
instead of a woman. He would not change a thing, though. He loved his family, and that was all that
mattered.

~Chapter 13~

Christian read the text he just received from Quinn. They were here. Christian fought back the bile

that rose in his throat. Jesus. He’s never been so nervous in his life. Christian spent about a month
planning this and there was no way in hell he was going to back out. He signed up for an open mic
night and got his brothers to invite Shea. Christian was supposed to be working one of his art shows
tonight and Shea would never turn down an invite from his brothers, so he knew that was the best
way to get Shea here. He was going to propose to Shea tonight. They couldn’t legally get married in
Pennsylvania, but they could always go to New York, Delaware, or Maryland, not that it would be
recognized in Pennsylvania, yet, but at least they would know that they were married. And maybe
one day, there will be equality.

The manager of the lounge gave Christian a pat on the back. “You’re up, buddy.”
Christian swallowed hard and nodded. He gathered all of the courage that he could muster up and

walked out onto the stage with his guitar. The crowd clapped and cheered. Christian spotted his
brothers and Shea at a table in the middle of the room, close to the stage. There were maybe forty to
fifty people in the room all together.

Shea was sitting with Sebastian on one side of him and Quinn on the other, and Henry sat on the

other side of Sebastian. Christian took a seat on the stool that was set up behind the microphone. He
glanced at the faces of his brothers to see that they were looking at him with pride, acceptance, and
love. Then Christian’s eyes met Shea’s surprised ones. He grinned and shook his head in awe, not
seeming to believe that Christian was up on stage in front of him. Good, Christian had wanted that
reaction.

“What are you doing?” Shea mouthed to him.
Christian just smiled slightly and adjusted his guitar and mic. “Hi...my name is Christian

Beck...I...uh...I’m going to be playing Lucky by Jason Mraz. This is for my boyfriend, Shea.”

Christian blew out the breath he was holding. He could do this. He had to do this. For Shea. For

himself. He needed Shea to know that he would do anything for him and that he wanted to spend the
rest of his life with him. Christian started strumming his guitar, playing the opening chords for the
song. Then he leaned forward and started singing into the mic, his eyes locked on Shea’s.

Do you hear me? I’m talking to you across the water across the deep blue ocean, under the
open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying. Boy I hear you in my dreams, I feel your whisper across
the sea, I keep you with me in my heart, you make it easier when life gets hard...

Christian sang his heart out. He poured everything he felt into the song. As the moments ticked by,

Christian’s nervousness and apprehension faded. The only person in the room was Shea, who sat
there smiling, eyes brimming with tears. Christian smiled while singing, he couldn’t help it, he was
so happy.

I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend, lucky to have been where I have been, lucky to be
coming home again. I’m lucky we’re in love in every way, lucky to have stayed where we
have stayed, lucky to be coming home someday...
Christian finished the song and the last of the notes on the guitar.

The room erupted. Christian was stunned to find the whole room standing, cheering, and clapping.

Sebastian gave the guy in front of him a playful nudge and shouted, “That’s my brother!”

Henry, Quinn, and Shea were also standing and clapping with bright smiles on their faces. Shea

put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Christian smiled, stood, and lifted a hand in thanks. He set his guitar down, leaning it against the

stool. A huge weight lifted off his shoulders and he felt like he could breathe again. He never
imagined he would ever get up on a stage and sing. But he wanted his proposal to be special and
something that Shea would never expect but always remember.

“There is one more thing that I want to say,” Christian said into the mic. The room quieted down

to listen to whatever Christian had to say. “Shea, you know I love you, and I would do anything for
you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, so I need to know...Will you marry me?” he asked,
staring at the man who held his heart and soul.

The crowd erupted again and started chanting “Say Yes!” Quinn and Sebastian started shoving

Shea toward the stage. Shea got the hint, made his way through the crowd, and hopped up on stage.
He grabbed the mic stand and tilted it toward his mouth so that he could talk into it. “Consider this
my answer,” he said.

Shea then grabbed Christian’s face and kissed him hard. The crowd went wild. Christian wrapped

his arms around Shea’s waist and yanked his body against his own. Shea pulled back from the kiss
and pressed his forehead against Christian’s, a giant grin on his face.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Shea whispered.
“Neither can I.” Christian chuckled.
Shea laughed, kissing him again. “You were incredible, baby.”
“Thank you, don’t ever expect it to happen again.” Christian snickered.
Shea smiled against his lips. “Once in a lifetime, I understand.”
“That’s right.”
The manager then walked on stage, smiling, and clapping. He went to the mic. “Give it up for

Christian and his fiancé, Shea!”

The crowd continued to give them a standing ‘O’ as they walked off stage. Christian had his guitar

in one hand and held Shea’s hand with the other. They made their way through the crowd to where
Christian’s brothers were waiting. They got pats on the back and high fives as they went. As soon as
they made it to Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn, the three of them wrapped them both up in a group hug.

“You know what time it is?” Sebastian said, a mischievous smirk on his face.
Christian grinned and shook his head. Oh no. “Really? In the middle of the lounge?”
“You know it!” Sebastian exclaimed.
The crowd then got a show when the group of them started jumping around in a circle together like

a bunch of idiots. Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn sang, “Christian’s getting married…” over and over
as they went. Christian laughed the whole time, his brothers were crazy. When they finally broke
apart, they made their way out of the lounge.

“Let’s go celebrate!” Sebastian said excitedly.
“Let me put my guitar in my car,” Christian said.
They all waited while Christian put his guitar in the trunk of his car, which was parked only a

block away, before they all started down the sidewalk toward Philly’s famous South Street, since
they were in walking distance. They decided to go to Paddy Whack’s Irish Pub. The five of them
found a table and Henry bought the first round. They were about six rounds in when Sebastian leaned
over the table toward Christian and said.

“Chris, I have a confession to make.”

Christian smiled. “Okay,” he replied.
“Remember at the kids’ birthday party when I said that Rae stuck her finger up my ass?” Sebastian

said, his mouth twitching.

Christian gave him a bored look. “Yeah,” he said dryly.
“I lied, she never did that. I was just trying to see how you would react.” Sebastian grimaced.
“You’re such a dick.” Shea chuckled before swigging his beer.
Christian shook his head. “That was one of the worst panic attacks I’ve ever had.”
“I’m sorry. I feel really bad about it.” Sebastian winced.
“No you don’t.” Christian snorted.
“Alright fine, I don’t. You’re face was fucking priceless.” Sebastian laughed.
They all laughed.
“So who is the woman in the relationship?” Henry asked as he leaned back in his chair with a

shit-eatin’ grin on his face.

“Christian, for sure.” Shea laughed.
Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn started cracking up.
“Hey!” Christian cried and shoved at Shea.
“I’m joking!” Shea said, still laughing.
Christian sent him a dirty look. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m curious, Chris, have you ever been with a woman?” Sebastian asked.
Christian nodded. “Yeah, twice when I was eighteen. I had to, to make sure that I was, in fact, gay.

I knew that I was attracted to guys sexually but I knew that I was supposed to be attracted woman, so
I tried, I really did, but I just couldn’t continue to be with women. I felt like I was lying to myself.”

“So you lost your virginity to a girl then?” Henry asked.
“Yeah and then again to a guy.” Christian smirked.
“Ah! No! No talkie about ass fuckie!” Sebastian whined, plugging his ears with his fingers before

singing, “Lalalalala.”

Christian chuckled.
“And what about you Shea? What changed that made you suddenly want to be with a guy?” Quinn

asked, curiously.

Shea glanced at Christian and smiled. “I didn’t want to be with just any guy, I wanted to be with

Christian. He told me he was in love with me and couldn’t bear to be just friends with me anymore.
So I suggested that we start a relationship, which in turn made me realize that I had been attracted to
Christian for a long time, and he was the one I am supposed to be with.”

“Good god, does anyone have a spoon? I need to gag myself!” Sebastian called around the bar,

getting some weird looks from the other patrons.

Henry slapped him upside the head. “Shut up, be nice.”
Sebastian glared at Henry before turning back to Shea. “But don’t you miss being with women?”
“Not really. Christian and I get along great, we always have, and there is nothing that a woman

can do in bed that Christian can’t do soooo much better.” Shea smirked, wagging his eyebrows at
Sebastian.

Sebastian visibly gagged and slapped a hand over his mouth. “Stop that! I don’t want to know

anything about your sex life, dammit!”

“It’s so fun to torture you, though.” Shea laughed.

“I will seek revenge,” Sebastian warned him, pointing a finger at him.
“Bring in on, biotch!” Shea said, holding his arms out in challenge.
They all laughed and continued to drink, get drunk, and laugh some more. It was the best time

Christian’s had since Sebastian’s wedding. Shea and he didn’t have to worry about Skylar tonight
because his parents were keeping her for the night.

Somehow, Shea ended up on Christian’s lap at one point. Shea was sitting sideways, one arm

wrapped around Christian’s shoulders while the other held his beer. This was the first time that they
had ever been so touchy feely in public, and especially in front of Christian’s brothers. Christian
really loved it, though. It felt good to be able to show off his gorgeous fiancé and let people know
that Shea was his. Shea was laughing at something Sebastian said and Christian couldn’t help but
smile up at him lazily. Shea was so handsome with his warm brown eyes and his full lips framed by
a dark goatee.

Shea glanced down at him and smiled softly when he realized that Christian had been watching

him. Shea leaned down and kissed him tenderly. Christian moaned low, damn, he loved the way
Shea kissed.

“Fuck, that’s so weird. I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing those two kiss,” Sebastian said.
Christian heard Henry and Quinn chuckle, but he didn’t really care. All he cared about was Shea

and his delicious mouth. Shea pulled back with a smile.

“Are we really engaged?” Shea asked quietly.
“Yes.” Christian grinned.
Shea shook his head. “That’s so crazy.”
“I love you, Shea.”
“I love you, too, Chris.”

Shea stared down at the shiny gold band inlayed with diamonds on his finger that matched

Christian’s. They got married up in New York a month prior. Of course, Christian’s whole family
was present, along with Quinn and Margot’s newest addition, a gorgeous dark haired baby girl who
they named, Evonne. Shea still couldn’t believe it was real, that he was married to the love of his
life and his best friend of twenty-five years.

Shea also changed Skylar’s and his last names to Beck. He wanted them all to have the same last

name and what better to become a Beck? He’s been part of their family almost his whole life, so it
made sense to finally make it official. Even though Pennsylvania didn’t acknowledge their marriage,
they couldn’t stop him from changing his name.

“Dada!” a sweet little voice said, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Shea looked down to see Skylar toddling toward him with one hand in Christian’s. She was just

starting to walk and was doing pretty well with just holding one hand instead of two now. He
couldn’t believe that she was one already. He swore they just brought her home from the hospital
yesterday.

“Hi, cutie.” Shea smiled and put his hands out for her to grab.
Skylar giggled and grabbed onto his hands. Shea lifted her onto his lap and gave her a kiss on the

cheek. He then looked up at Christian, who was smiling lovingly down at him. Shea would never get
tired of the way Christian looked at him. Christian leaned down and gave him a kiss.

“This party is insane,” Christian murmured, sitting down on the lounge chair next to him.
They were in Henry’s backyard, it was a - Happy 2

nd

birthday to Adalyn and Michael/Happy 1

st

Birthday to Skylar/Wedding reception for both Margot and Quinn, and Christian and Shea - party.
Margot’s mother, brother, and sister flew in from France and were staying for two weeks so that
they could spend some time with Evonne, who was already two and a half months old.

Shea snorted. “Aren’t Beck parties always insane?”
Christian chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“It’s going to be even more insane next year now that Claire and Raelynn are pregnant again,”

Shea said.

“And Raelynn is having twins. Oh god, I can’t imagine how Sebastian is going to deal with that.

Mikey is a little terror already, and now they get to add two more…” Christian groaned, shaking his
head.

Shea winced. “Yeah, that’s gonna be rough.”
“I just wanna know how those two got pregnant at the same time again,” Christian said, baffled by

the thought.

“I bet him and Henry had it all planned out and called each other that night. ‘Hey man, we’re

doing it tonight, right? Yeah dude, make sure you get her pregnant.’” Shea mocked in a very
meathead-ish voice, using his hand as a phone.

Christian barked out a laughed and slapped Shea’s chest. Shea smiled over at Christian who

smiled back. Shea didn’t think life could get any better than this. He had a family who loved him,
and even though his parents and sister weren’t here to see it, he knew they would be happy for him.
He wished they could have seen him get married and he wished they could have met Skylar, but
sometimes things just don’t work out like we plan. All he could do was live for today and love his
husband and daughter with all of his heart.

“One, four, three,” Shea said with a cheesy grin.
Christian chuckled and shook his head before looking over at Shea again. “One, four, three, three,

Shea,” Christian replied before leaning over and stealing a kiss.

~Epilogue~

7 years later…

Anne Beck could not get over how much her family has grown over the past seven years. Henry’s

house was the only place that they could all fit together. She was up to thirteen grandchildren and she
was pretty sure that was going to be the final number. Both Henry and Sebastian got neutered and
Margot had her tubes tied after the last one was born.

To think that she could have missed out on all of this if she hadn’t changed made her chest tight. If

she had not gone for help and made amends with her sons, then she would not be in their lives,
which meant that she would not be involved in all of her grandchildren’s lives. How horrible a life
that would have been. She was so glad that Sebastian had the guts to tell her how horrendous a
mother she was being. She will never be able to thank him enough for doing what he did that day.

Kids screaming and laughing brought Anne out of her thoughts. When she looked to see what was

going on, she found all of the kids attacking Sebastian. The kids were all over him, grabbing his legs
and arms, wrapping their arms around his waist. Anne laughed at the crazy sight in front of her.

“My cookie! Get off me, you little moochers!” Sebastian cried, holding one Christmas tree shaped

sugar cookie high in the air.

“It’s the last one! You have to share!” Michael laughed as he jumped to try to grab the cookie,

which was way out of his reach.

“There are tons of other cookies! Go get your own!” Sebastian said.
“That’s the last Christmas tree one though!” Little Henry yelled.
“Yeah! Cough it up, Uncle Sebastian!” Skylar giggled.
“Ahhhh! Something bit me!” Sebastian cried out in surprise and pain before one knee buckled and

he ended up on the floor.

The kids moved in and covered him from head to toe. Sebastian tried to keep hold of the cookie,

but it was impossible. Anne could not stop laughing along with the rest of the adults. Sebastian
screamed like a little girl, which made Anne laugh so hard that she had tears running down her face.
She knew that he was playing around for the kids’ sakes but it was just so hilarious.

The cookie ended up in pieces, crumbled up between Sebastian trying to hold on and the kids

snatching at it. A few of the older kids walked away while shoving a piece in their mouths.
Eventually, when there was no more cookie to be had, all of the kids left Sebastian lying on the floor
to go play elsewhere. He rolled to his side and leaned on one elbow, sending death glares at his
brothers and Shea.

“You guys could have helped me.” He grunted.
“It was much more fun to watch.” Quinn chuckled.
“You four are now on my shit list,” Sebastian muttered as he got to his feet.
“Aw, poor baby. Couldn’t handle a horde of kids,” Henry said with a fake pout.
“Hello! Did you not see those little monsters! They ganged up on me and one of them bit me on the

back of my leg!” Sebastian squawked, his arms flailing.

Everyone started laughing.
“I hate you all.” Sebastian snarled. “I wanted that damn cookie, too.” He huffed as he brushed

himself off while walking over to Raelynn, who wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Get over it, you big baby.” Henry snorted.
Sebastian shot his brother the finger. “Get over this, fuckface,” he snapped.
“Alright, how about we give mom her present?” Christian said, ever the peacekeeper.
“Good idea, Christian,” Claire agreed, sending both Henry and Sebastian a disapproving look.
“I’ll go get it,” Henry said and left the room.
“What did you guys do now?” Anne sighed. Her boys had the habit of getting her some of the

goofiest presents.

“Nothing,” Sebastian said with an innocent face that Anne wasn’t buying for one second.
A couple of years ago they had a throw blanket made with a picture of them on it, but it wasn’t a

nice picture. They had all dressed up like Steve Urkle with the high pants, suspenders, glasses…
everything, and smiled with overly cheesy smiles. Not that Anne didn’t love it, because she did, it
was her favorite blanket, but one year she wished they would just do something nice and normal.

Henry came back in the room with a very large picture frame, the back facing her. Oh jeez, she

could only imagine what the picture on the other side looked like. Christian went over and helped
Henry turn it around. Anne gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She couldn’t believe what
she was looking at. Tears sprang to her eyes and started sliding down her face.

The picture was of her whole family - her boys, their spouses and all of the kids. They were all

dressed in white and posing in front of a beautiful flower garden. Everyone looked gorgeous and all
of the kids were smiling and looking at the camera. How they got all of those kids to behave was a
miracle. Each family was together and they went in age order. Henry, who was the oldest, was all
the way to the left with his family.

Henry and Claire had four children, Ethan who was now thirteen, Henry III was ten, Adalyn was

nine, and the youngest at six was Evangeline. Ethan was as tall if not a little taller than his mother,
and boy, was he a looker with his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Henry told her that Ethan was
already a heartbreaker and has had a couple of girlfriends since he started high school at the
beginning of September, which was only four months ago. Henry III was also a big boy. He is
definitely taking after his father in both looks and personality. The only thing that he had of his
mother’s was her bright blue eyes. Adalyn also had her mother’s eyes. She actually looked just like
Claire and was the sweetest little girl who loved her daddy to death. Then there was Evangeline
,who was a mixture of both Henry and Claire. She was the only kid who got Henry’s green eyes, her
hair was strawberry blonde like Claire’s, and she had a little of both parents personalities.

Next to Henry and Claire, were Sebastian and Raelynn and their four children, who were all boys.

Michael was their oldest at nine, the twins, Matthew and Timothy, were six, and Brian, who was a
surprise, was two. All four boys took after Sebastian in both looks and personality. Poor Raelynn,
Anne felt so bad for her, she had to live in that house with five boys. Even though Sebastian was
now in his forties, he still acted like a little kid. He was a fantastic father, though; he was stern when
he needed to be, which was fairly often because his boys were wild. But he loved his children and
wife with his whole heart, which is what mattered most.

Quinn and Margot followed with their three children, two girls and a boy. Evonne was now

seven, Nora was four, and Tristan was two. Tristan was a ten-pound baby and gave Margot a hard
time throughout the whole pregnancy. They needed to do a C-section because he was so big. Margot
didn’t want to go through another rough pregnancy, and they agreed that three kids were enough for

them, so she got her tubes tied. All three kids had dark hair and brown eyes. Evonne was outgoing
and bubbly like her mother, Nora was more laid back and calm like her father, and Tristan looked
liked Quinn, but he acted…well, he was a lot like his Uncle Sebastian actually, which was pretty
funny sometimes. Quinn liked to tease Margot, saying that she must have cheated on him with
Sebastian and that Tristan was Sebastian’s son. But after a few flicks of her deadly wrist, he stopped
teasing her about that.

Lastly, was Christian and Shea with their two children. Of course, there was Skylar, who was

eight and a gorgeous little girl with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She called Shea “Dad” and
Christian “Daddy.” She’s had some issues at school with other kids giving her grief about having
two fathers, but she’s done really well dealing with it on her own. Then there was Greyson, who
was three. Christian and Shea had decided that they wanted another child, so they found a surrogate
and used Christian’s sperm and a donor egg. They got lucky and the surrogate got pregnant on the
first try, and nine months later, Greyson Beck was born. Anne swore that the Beck men had the
strongest genes she has ever seen because that boy looks exactly like his father, just like the rest of
them do.

It was the most beautiful picture she had ever seen. “You guys!” Anne breathed and looked around

at the smiling faces of her family.

“Do you like it?” Christian asked.
“I love it, thank you all so much,” Anne said, her voice trembling.
Henry and Christian leaned the picture up against the wall then moved in to give her a hug. Quinn

and Sebastian followed. She never realized how big her boys were until they were all hugging her at
the same time. She felt super small all wrapped up in the middle of the four of them.

“Love you, mom,” Sebastian said.
“I love you all so much,” Anne sniffed.
After her sons let her go, Claire, Raelynn, Margot, and Shea moved in to give her individual hugs.

Anne could not have asked for a better family. Her sons had grown into fine men, wonderful
husbands, and exceptional fathers. How she had become so lucky was beyond her. She loved her
family dearly and she knew that her grandchildren were in the best hands, and that they would grow
to be great people.

The End.

Connect with Me Online:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AndriaLargeAuthor

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7032815.Andria_Large

Note from the Author

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for reading my books and loving the Beck

brothers as much as I do. This series will always hold a special place in my heart because it is my
first. I have many more books and series planned, and there is always a possibility of more Becks in
the future; you never know. Thank you again!

Coming soon from M.D. Saperstein and Andria Large:

Hey There, Delilah…(A Taboo Love Series #1)

Hi, my name is Delilah Sampson, and I am a self proclaimed “frump girl.” My world came

crashing down the day I walked in on my boyfriend having sex with my boss, rendering me single and
jobless. A new job fell into my lap as the secretary of the gorgeous, rich, powerful, and mighty cocky
controlling partner at Santino Law Firm. I spend my days trying to please a demanding boss, keeping
my lustful thoughts to myself. Until one night, when my best friend drags me to a club, and I fall for a
man whose true identity I will never know.

See, at Club Masquerade, everyone wears a mask and a nametag with a fake name. Also, on your

nametag is a number that you are assigned when you come into the club, which is linked to an in-
house messaging system; no one is permitted to speak, which ensures that identities are kept secret. I
meet my lover every Saturday at 9 pm sharp. We text and email constantly when we are not together,
and I have somehow fallen in love with him.

But, then there is Nick Santino. He is the partner that I can’t keep my eyes off. Unfortunately, the

only reason he hired me is because he is not attracted to me and all my frump glory. Fortunately, for
me, I am a kick ass secretary, so he keeps me around. Like many men in his position, Nick is used to

getting what he wants, when he wants it; all without commitment, of course.

So when he finds a woman that he is both physically and emotionally attracted to, he finds himself

in unchartered territory – love. And I can do nothing but be jealous from the sidelines – lusting for a
man I can’t have, and loving a man I can’t know.

Hey there, Delilah is book 1 of the Taboo Love series, in which we tackle the boss/secretary

relationship. Each book will be a stand alone with a HEA, but will have a few reoccurring
characters.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18074824-hey-there-delilah