Tate ignored his friend’s acerbic glance with a yawn as he ambled to the coffee maker. “Too many strangers in this house to be naked. I don’t want to freak out some poor delivery guy, but I still think clothes are unnatural. Humans walked around naked for far longer than they’ve covered themselves up.”
Eric shook his head, clearly in disagreement. “After it calms down around here, we’ll have to accustom Belle to you walking around with your junk hanging out.”
He shrugged. They would be back in Chicago before too long. “I think we should accustom Belle to walking around naked. When she’s alone with us, she doesn’t need clothes, man.”
He wasn’t the dominant of the group. He liked to top a woman, but not the way Eric—and especially Kellan—needed it. But he loved certain aspects of the lifestyle.
Eric’s hair was still wet from his shower, but he was dressed for the day in slacks and a dress shirt. “I don’t hate that idea. We need to start thinking about a collar for that beautiful girl. I thought I’d go shopping and pick up a few things. I considered asking Sequoia to grab some stuff from our stash back home, but god only knows the lectures he’d give about the plastic found in anal plugs killing the environment.”
But anal plugs would get Belle’s sweet ass ready for play. With just that thought, his cock wasn’t tired anymore. It strained against his sweats. Unlike Eric, he wasn’t about to get all dressed up to spend the day in front of his computer, but he’d toss on something acceptable for that errand. “I’ll go with you. We definitely need to get her ready, but don’t you think we should consider a ring before a collar?”
Eric raised a tawny brow. “You think so?”
He poured himself a cup of coffee, hoping the answer he got matched his own. “Yeah. I want to marry her. Don’t you?”
How had they not talked about this? He’d just assumed they wanted the same thing. They’d talked endlessly about getting her in bed, moving her into their home, having a future with her. What the hell was he going to do if that future didn’t include marriage for Eric?
“Of course I do,” Eric shot back. “And I think we should do it fairly quickly because she deserves to know the men she gave herself to want to marry her. She waited a very long time. She should never question that we love her.”
Love. Wow. Tate had never believed he would find it. He’d basically been programmed that love was detrimental to one’s ambitions. But he had no doubt now that he’d totally fallen in love.
“This is what my mom and dad warned me about,” Tate admitted. “I can’t think straight around her. I think love is turning me into a Disney character. Damn it. I always thought I’d be someone interesting out of a Star Trek episode, but I kind of want to break into song a little. Just a little.”
Eric stared at him. “I’ve heard you sing. Please don’t.”
Belting out a chorus of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” might be fun, but it would probably scare Belle away. “I’ll hold it in.”
“Yeah.” Eric nodded. “Shove it down, dude. Way down.”
The door opened, and Belle dashed in. His damn heart skipped a beat because he knew they were meant to be. He’d spent many an awkward morning with a woman who didn’t mind him in bed, but completely ignored him out of it, preferring Eric’s company after sex. Belle wouldn’t be that way. She didn’t mind his quirks. He could be himself around her, and it felt totally freeing.
She blinked up at them before her gaze skittered away. Obviously, she felt a little bashful.
“Morning, guys.” She stole another glance at him. He loved the way she sighed. It made all that time at the gym worthwhile. “You…um, look good this morning. I mean you look well rested. You slept okay? I didn’t kick or snore or anything?”
With a laugh, Tate scooped her up in his arms, enjoying her squeal as he hauled her against his chest. “Last night, I slept better than ever. You are the perfect body pillow.”
She relaxed in his arms. “I was so warm in between you and Eric.”
Eric grinned, looking happier than Tate could remember. He took Belle’s hand in his and kissed her fingers. Even her hands were small and adorable.
“We were very happy to keep you warm, baby,” Eric murmured. “Now, we have to talk about those interns from the law office because they are not returning to this house today.”
Belle frowned. “I’ve been thinking about that… I know they’re an inconvenience and I didn’t want them here last night, but I really don’t have time to do the inventory.”
Tate was with Eric on this one. “Then I’ll help you. I can take the weekend and get it done.”
“It’ll be fine. I doubt any of them wrote in pig’s blood on my bedroom wall. Why would they have a beef to pick with me? I don’t know them.”
“You don’t know anyone in this town, but that doesn’t matter. Someone is out to disturb you—at least. At worst…” He shrugged. “I’m not taking chances. In fact, we’re going to vet everyone who walks in this house, including that douchebag electrician who stares at your ass.”
She huffed. “He does not.”
“Oh, he does.” Eric opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs. “And when you’re not looking, he’s staring at your boobs, too. Next time he does it, I’m going to kick his ass. God, I hope he has a record. Maybe he’s on the lam. Then we could kill him and claim self-defense.”
Belle looked horrified.
“He’s teasing, baby. At least kind of.” Tate settled himself on one of the kitchen table chairs and looked at the mess of computer equipment, legal files, and writing implements all over the table. He couldn’t see a single inch of the antique cherry surface anymore. Frowning, he made a mental note to clear off the dining room table and relocate the office elsewhere so they could all sit down and eat together. Kellan was right. They needed to behave like a family.
It would just be so much easier if they were back home, in their recently constructed suburban paradise, instead of this never-ending home improvement project.
“You can’t kill Mike. I need him.” Belle rested her head on his shoulder. “I have to get the electricity working properly. Have you noticed that power works selectively in certain rooms? And some spots are just weirdly cold.”
“That last problem is HVAC. The vents are probably screwed up, baby.” Eric put a cup of coffee in front of her. “It’s one more hassle and expense to add to the list that you don’t need.”
“You know,” Tate began, “we could hire someone to revamp the whole place, find someone capable of handling everything.”
Belle’s head snapped up, and he felt her whole body stiffen. “Are you saying I’m not capable?”
A voice in his head told him he was walking into dangerous territory. That same voice always told him he wasn’t going to get the girl or say the right thing. But he had Belle now, and she wasn’t like every other bitch who’d snubbed him after sex. She didn’t expect him to say the right thing all the time. That stupid voice was the product of self-doubt, and it had to go.
“Of course you’re capable. I know you want to stay here, but we need to get back to Chicago, baby.”
Hadn’t they settled this last night? Yeah, she’d said a few days ago that she wanted to stay in New Orleans, but surely she wouldn’t have gone to bed with them if she didn’t intend to share a future. Chicago was home, and he was anxious to get back. Although he kind of loved that it wasn’t cold here yet. He also dug the nifty, weird vibe and charming architecture of New Orleans. When he jogged, he always found something new to see. The city was a chameleon, changing on a daily basis. Tate found it a little weird and wonderful. He’d even found himself running down Royal Street beside a group of dudes in red dresses the other day. He didn’t know what the hell was up with that, but they’d looked as if they’d been having fun. Pretty soon he wouldn’t have anything in Chicago except frigid temperatures and another average season for the Bears, but everything they’d worked for was there.