“I’m not. He’s been straight all his fuckin’ life, and now he’s changin’? Christ, I don’t even know why, but he ain’t doin’ it with my brother.”
Wade dropped his head, and when he spoke, it was in an icy tone. “You know me, brother. You fuckin’ know me.” He looked up. “When was the last time you saw me this happy?”
Zion opened his mouth, closed it, and blinked.
“Exactly. I’ve never been happy, and I didn’t know what was missin’ until I met your brother. Jesus, Lucas brings peace inside me, and I won’t give that up for anythin’ or anyone. I don’t know how long this’ll last, but I’m goddamn prayin’ it’ll be for-fuckin’-ever. You’re askin’ me to give up this? I won’t do it. Lucas is mine.”
I heard a sniffle, but I watched Zion as he ground his teeth together and fisted his hands.
“You’re a motherfuckin’ prick for doin’ this. You should have come to me first before even chasin’ Lucas.”
“You would have said no,” Wade told him, which was true.
Zion shifted his eyes to me, where I peeked over Wade’s shoulder. “You want this fucker?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Even though he’s never been with a guy before and this could all just be a phase?”
“Yes,” I said again. “It’ll always be yes because he does make me happy. Not only that, I know I’ll always be protected as well.”
My brother looked between us, and then quickly, he punched Wade in the face.
“Zion,” I yelled, and grabbed Wade as he straightened. I ran my hands over his face; a mark was already showing on his jaw. What was weird was that Wade was smiling. “What are you grinning about?” I demanded. Had he lost his mind?
Zion snorted. “Because he knows I’ll accept it as long as the fucker doesn’t hurt you. That was me givin’ my consent, but also a fuck you for keepin’ it from me.”
My heart pounded in my chest.
Had my brother really accepted this?
“So, you’re not going to be an idiot about this?” I asked, needing confirmation.
“Lucas, you’re the smarter one out of us, and if you want to tie yourself to this fool, then… now that it’s processed in my head, I’m not gonna stop this.”
A smile grew on my lips. “Really?”
Zion rolled his eyes and then turned to go sit back down. Dad was also returning to his seat.
I glanced up at Wade, who was grinning down at me. “You happy?” he asked.
“More than happy, whatever that is,” I answered just as he cupped my cheeks and dipped down to give me a kiss.
“Jesus, I only gave my consent. Doesn’t mean you need to suck his face off in front of me.”
Chuckling, Wade straightened and curled an arm around my shoulders. “You’ll get used to it,” he told Zion.
“I think it’s sweet,” Mom cooed. She stood and came at us with open arms. “This is amazing. Welcome to the family, Wade.” She hugged us tightly together.
“I’m surprised you two didn’t see it from a mile away like I did,” Dad said, sitting back and taking a sip of his beer, acting like a know-it-all.
“What are you talking about?” Mom asked while we all sat back down, only I moved around to sit beside Wade.
“As soon as I met the guy, I knew something was going on between those two. It’s all in the eyes.”
Zion scratched his nose with his middle finger. “Whatever, old man. I’ve been too busy to notice anything.” Zion looked to Wade. “Anyone else know?”
“West and Kylo,” I said.
“Country and Death. Country because he’s prez, and Death because he noticed some things as well.”
“What the fuck did I miss? Christ, I feel like I’ve been blind.”
“Anyway,” Dad started, and all of a sudden, I got scared because he was looking at Wade. “Tell us a bit about yourself, Wade, since you’re dating our son.”
“Dad, no,” I said.
Zion rubbed his hands together and grinned evilly. “Yes.”
Mom waved her hand in front of her. “Wait, I have a question. As Zion pointed out before, Wade, you’ve slept with a lot of women. Did you practice safe sex?”
“Mom!” I cried.
Dad groaned. “Dear God, Lucy.”
Zion just laughed his butt off and pointed at Mom. “Good one.”
I grabbed Wade’s hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. “Please excuse my strange and very intrusive family. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”
Wade leaned back in his seat and smirked. “It’s all right.” I went to say something, but then his hand landed on the back of my neck, and he rubbed there. I blinked and got distracted from his touch.
Wade kept his hand there and said, “I’ve always practiced safe sex. I was born into a family who never really wanted a kid, so I made sure to not have a kid with someone who would have been just a one-night hookup.”
Everyone stared at him.
He shrugged. “Just keepin’ it real. My parents didn’t care what I did, if I was fed, or where I was. When I hit eighteen, I got out. I found a place, a club of great men who became my family. They taught me more about life than my parents ever had. A year later, my parents died in a car crash. I can’t say I was broken up about it because I wasn’t.”
“Of course you weren’t,” Mom said. “And if they were still around, I would be on their front step, cursing them black and blue for doing such a thing.”
Wade tensed beside me, surprised by Mom’s outburst. He cleared his throat. “Ah, thanks.” Mom smiled warmly at him. His hand tightened on my neck.
“What do you do with your days now?” Dad asked.
“I’m part owner of the Polished Pussy clubs. I assist there on a rotating roster with Saint, Country, and State.”
Zion snorted. “We manage the shit outta that club with a couple of assistant managers when we’re not in, like now. And then, with the other two startin’ to take off, we’re run off our
