“First of all,” Juno said and flipped him off with both hands. “Second. Bring it. I’ll babysit the shit outta them.”
“Don’t worry, Saint. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Rome said as he sat down next to Juno.
Juno glared at him. “I’m not the one who does stupid shit.”
“I beg to differ,” Scar said at the same time Bones yelled, “You do the dumbest shit,” from the kitchen.
Juno let out a groan and glared at Rome when he laughed.
“Why would you all sell me out like that?” Juno asked, his voice sounding whiny even to himself.
“’Cause we love you,” Scar said and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Juno grumbled a bit under his breath but ultimately, he could never get mad at them.
“Can we, like, make a pact to not get kidnapped?” Auggie asked, looking way too serious.
“Pretty sure that ain’t how it works, sweetie,” Stiletto said.
Auggie crossed his arms and leaned back in the couch, a pout on his lips as he mumbled, “It should.”
Juno pressed his lips together to keep from smiling as he stood to get in front of Auggie.
“How ‘bout this, Aug? I promise, from now on, to let you know if I intend to get kidnapped.”
Auggie glared at him and pushed him away. Juno was laughing as his ass hit the floor.
“Immature asshole,” Auggie said under his breath.
Juno caught Auggie’s gaze and shrugged, happy to see a smile blooming on Auggie’s face. Juno got off the floor to jump Auggie, wrapping himself around the smaller man while Auggie yelled for help.
Juno kissed him all over his face and said, “You love me.”
“I’d love to hurt you,” Auggie grumbled as he went still under Juno.
“Aww.” Juno leaned back to ruffle Auggie’s hair. “You’re so cute. Like an angry chihuahua.”
“I’ll give you angry chihuahua,” Auggie growled and tried to get free from Juno’s hold.
Auggie was no match for Juno who laughed as he held on. In the end, Auggie ended up being saved by Stiletto, and he wore a smile as he flipped off Juno.
“Babysitting you assholes is not what I signed up for when I joined the club and yet, here I am. Again,” Stiletto said with a heavy sigh.
Juno threw his head back and laughed. He caught Rome’s gaze and the love he saw reflected in those deep brown eyes had warmth spreading through his body and a smile widening his lips.
Rome
He watched as the Kings laughed and made fun of each other. He liked the way Juno was around them. Open and a hundred percent himself. He wished he could live like that all the time. Free. Free to be himself. Free to show affection and love the way he wanted to. It would never be possible but at least he didn’t have to hide it from his boss or Juno’s family it seemed.
“Dinner at my place,” Saint said and pointed at Juno. “No getting out of it.”
Juno shrugged, then arched a brow at Saint as he asked, “Have you ever known me to turn down free food?”
Saint snorted with a shake of his head, then turned to Rome. “That goes for you, too.”
He must’ve not hidden his surprise fast enough, because Saint walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You clearly love Juno which means you’re family now, whether you like it or not,” Saint said, a teasing smile on his lips.
Rome had to swallow hard against the lump forming in his throat before he managed to say, “Thank you.”
Saint squeezed his shoulder, then went off to gather the Kings to shoo them toward the door. Rome didn’t move for a long moment. Not until Juno appeared in front of him with a wry smile on his lips. Rome relaxed, a sense of relief coursing through him as he took Juno’s hand and led the way to the front door.
He coaxed Juno into riding in the car with him so he could hold Juno’s hand while he drove. It was the little things like that that made the hurdles he knew he’d have to overcome every day of being with Juno, that much easier to bear.
He followed the bikes through the city and somehow managed to find a parking space in front of Saint’s house. It was a lot bigger than he’d expected. He also wasn’t prepared for the little girl who came running at Saint the second he was through the front door. Saint picked her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She laughed and squirmed in his arms. The mischievous gleam in her eyes told him she’d probably make fast friends with Dante. Despite always doing as he was told, Dante had a naughty streak which drove Marco nuts most of the time. It was quite endearing to see the stoic man brought to his knees by a little kid.
Rome followed the others into a living room. There was another kid there who was watching TV and a man who smiled big when he saw Saint. Saint wrapped his arms around him and kissed him. The man said hello to the others, then walked up to Rome.
“Hi. You must be Rome. I’m Nash.”
“Hi,” Rome said and shook Nash’s hand. “Thanks for having us.”
“Our pleasure. Please take a seat. Dinner will be ready in a sec,” Nash said and headed off to the kitchen.
Rome sat down at the table and looked to his right as Juno pulled out the chair next to him. The smile on Juno’s face filled Rome with happiness.
Juno
He looked around at the people surrounding him. He took in the sight of his family, happy and carefree. He’d always loved being a part of the Salvation Kings,
