Breaking through the Bond (Espen Jetties #2)

33. King

33

KING

That evening, after spending a lot of the day in bed with Hayes, we drove over to Jamie’s in my Jeep since the three of us wouldn’t fit in my BMW. We were going to pick him up then head over to my ma’s house for dinner.

I had sent a group text earlier in the week to my ma, Dad, and my brothers and sisters that I was not only dating Jamie, but Hayes as well. My phone blew the fuck up after that like I knew it would. It was honestly easier doing it over text than in person. But for all the craziness of them, I knew they’d never breathe a word of our relationship to anyone. The Walker family was a vault. Nothing could break through us.

It wasn’t that I was dating two men that was necessarily the big deal. It was I was dating Hayes, the man who my family considered one of theirs. They were also extremely excited to meet Jamie. Had been since they’d seen me and him in the paper together. Even Dad would be there for dinner tonight. No way was he missing it.

“I think I need to buy a car,” Hayes said as we approached Jamie’s building.

“Now? After years of using mine?”

He shrugged. “The Jeep is fine but for three of us, I think we need a bigger SUV. Something nice.”

“Leather, right? Tell me whatever you have in mind will have leather seats.”

Hayes reached over and patted my thigh. “Only the best for your ass.”

“Damn right.” I grinned. “It’s about time you drive me around for a change.”

“I knew that was coming.”

I took his hand in mine. “You know I’m only busting on you. I’ll gladly take you wherever you need to go for the rest of our lives.” He squeezed my hand.

“The Jeep has seen better days.”

“Yeah, but she’s holding up well. We can go car shopping tomorrow after training if you want.”

“Sounds good.”

I parked in the garage at Jamie’s place, and we took the elevator up. When we went inside his home, Jamie was there waiting for us in a nice pair of shorts and a T-shirt without a wrinkle on it. I groaned when I saw him.

“Seriously?” I asked. “The two of you are going to show me up.”

“I’m not sure how many times we have to go over this,” Hayes replied as he walked over to kiss Jamie. “You should dress better to see your family, but you never do. And you constantly give me shit about how I look. Now it’s two against one.” Hayes grinned and wrapped his arm around Jamie’s waist.

“You’re fuckers, both of you.” Then because they were touching each other and I had no one’s hands on me, I walked over and kissed Jamie soundly before inserting myself between the two of them. I didn’t miss the hint of vodka on Jamie’s tongue, though he didn’t look drunk.

I worried about him. Both Hayes and I did. He told me what happened after Jamie’s dad had shown up. Said it was obvious how much seeing him upset Jamie. Being with your family should make you happy, but I knew better than to think that was the way with everyone.

“Ready, honey?” I asked Jamie.

His eyes darted away before coming back. “Yeah.”

“Nervous?”

“A little. What if they don’t agree with what we have going on?”

“Yeah, sooo… I may have already told them about us. It was better just to rip the bandage off ahead of time so we could enjoy dinner.” Hayes already knew. He’d gotten a call from my ma not long after the texting escapade died down. I couldn’t hear her words, but the happiness in her tone was easily recognizable.

Hayes stepped around to stand in front of Jamie. He cupped his cheeks to bring Jamie’s gaze to his. “They’re going to love you. And they are hands down some of the best people I’ve ever met. But prepare yourself. King’s family is loud, and they love to hug much like our man here.”

“And they’re not going to care it’s three of us?” Jamie asked.

“Nah,” I cut in. “As long as we’re happy, that’s what matters. You’re going to be welcomed into the Walker clan. There’s no leaving either. You’re stuck with us.”

Jamie smiled. “No other place I’d rather be than between the two of you.” He reached down to grab my ass. I couldn’t stop the slight wince. Jamie watched me with concern. “You okay?”

“Hayes drilled my ass twice today. I’m a little sore.”

“Did he now?” Jamie’s gaze moved back to Hayes. He leaned in close to nip at Hayes’s jaw. “When’s my turn?”

“Jesus,” Hayes muttered as his hands went to Jamie’s hips so he could pull him in. “I really don’t want to show up at dinner hard.”

“We should take care of that before we go,” I told him.

Hayes shook his head. “Nope. We need to be on time or else they’re going to know what we were doing.”

I froze. “Shit, you’re right. Everyone keep your hands to yourself. Let’s get going. Dicks down. Eyes up. No distractions.” It wasn’t that I was stupid. Of course, my family knew I had sex, but the thought of showing up there, all of us looking freshly fucked, that was a hard hell no.

We piled into my Jeep and made the drive to my ma’s house. Pulling up, I noticed everyone was here minus Ember, who was still in Florida.

I parked and turned the Jeep off. “You ready?” I was asking both of them. Hayes was going to get hugged within an inch of his life and Jamie was going to be welcomed into the family like we’d just gotten married. It was how my family was. Lots of love for everyone. Though I was sure Eli would give me shit since that was our way.

“Yeah,” Jamie said.

Hayes reached forward and put his hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “We’ll be together. They won’t try to separate you from the herd so they can corner you.”

I snorted a laugh. “We better get in there before they spill from the house.” I glanced up and saw the front curtains move, which told me they were looking outside at us.

We got out of the Jeep and Hayes leaned in to whisper to me, “I’ll go first. Take some of the attention off Jamie.”

“Sure. Like that’s going to work.”

Ma was there with the door open wide when we walked up. She went right for Hayes, hugging the ever-loving hell out of him. “It’s like a dream come true.”

“Jesus, Ma, he’s not new.” I gently pushed them into the house so we could get inside and close the door before everyone on the street wondered why Ma was practically in tears outside. She was so happy it bled from every part of her.

With the door shut, Dad was there, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, son.”

“You’d think I just got married or some shit.”

He pulled back to smile at me. “You’re in a serious relationship with two men. This is big news for you.” I didn’t have to ask if he cared that there were three of us. I knew none of them did. They were all very open and accepting. One of the many reasons why I loved them so much.

Maia bulldozed her way past us. “You must be Jamie. I’m King’s sister, Maia.” I turned in time to see her looking Jamie up and down. “Damn, you’re handsome. King, you have good taste. I saw you two in the paper, but nothing can compare to seeing you in person.” She winked at me over her shoulder then hugged Jamie, who was a bit hesitant but hugged her back.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

That caught Ma’s attention. His voice. Deep and sexy. Not that my ma thought it was because ewww. But I did. I knew Hayes did too. “Jamie!” Ma cried and came over to hug him. Jamie had to bend a little to wrap his arms around her short frame. “I’m so glad you’re here.” When she pulled back, she took his hand in hers and dragged him toward the back of the house. “Come. You need to meet the rest of the family.”

I followed right behind them. “Ma, let him breathe.”

Hayes spoke up from behind me. “What you should really be saying is, ‘I’m sorry, Jamie. I’ll make it up to you later.’”

“Oh, gross, Hayes,” Maia huffed. “You might be fucking my brother, but we don’t need to hear details.”

We entered the hallway to find Eli making a gagging noise. I stepped over and slapped him on the back. “Now, now, baby brother. You might be getting some dick of your own, but you can’t deny how hot my men are.”

Eli dodged out of my touch. “I don’t know where your hands have been.”

Movement from the dining room caught my attention. Blond hair, blue eyes, oh I knew who this was. “Why didn’t anyone tell me Eli’s boyfriend was visiting?” The grin on my face couldn’t have gotten bigger. I stepped toward him, but Eli latched himself to my arm.

“No, King, don’t.”

I strode across the room, dragging Eli with me until I was standing in front of him—the boyfriend. He was cute in a too young and innocent way that wasn’t my thing, but I could see why Eli liked him. Wide eyes peered up at me like a deer in the headlights. “Hello. Who are you?”

“Kingston,” Eli groaned.

I waved him off. “Introduce us, baby brother.”

He groaned again and looked at his boyfriend. “I told you he was going to be like this. Douchebag, this is my boyfriend, Frazier. Fraz, this is my brother, King.”

Frazier held out his hand for a proper greeting. That wasn’t what we Walkers did. I grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up into a big bear hug. Poor guy let out a little squeak, so I put him down. He was about four or five inches shorter than my brother and me, who were the same height at fix foot one. Slender but not skinny, he was good-looking and right up my brother’s alley.

“Did you break him?” Hayes asked as he came over to stand beside me. “Hi, Hayes Garner.”

“Nice to meet you,” Frazier said and held out his hand though he was hesitant this time.

Hayes took it and they shook.

“Where’s Jamie?” I asked.

“Outside with Jude. I think it’s safer there. Not so many Walkers in one place.”

“Ma left him alone?”

“Only because I asked her to show me what she made for dessert.”

“Smart man. Food will always get her talking.”

Hayes smiled and it made my sappy heart flutter. “You and she have that in common.”

“We do. What did she make?”

“Carrot cake.”

“Hell yes. I love that.” I took Hayes’s hand in mine and dragged him into the kitchen where Ma was putting the finishing touches on the cake.

She stopped when she saw us come in. One hand went to Hayes’s cheek; her other went to mine. “My boys. You two make me so happy. And Jamie, I love him. You both did good. I’m elated for the three of you.”

Tears built in my eyes. I knew my ma loved me. That was never in doubt but the happiness on her face, the way it shone for me, Hayes, and Jamie, it got me square in the chest. I reached forward and hugged her. “Thanks, Ma.”

“Whatever for?”

“Loving me just as I am. Accepting me. Supporting me.”

“Always. You kids are my whole world.”

I sniffled and reached out for Hayes, pulling him in so we could all hug. Shoes on the floor brought my attention to the doorway where Jamie was standing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said, still obviously a little nervous. Not that I could blame him. We were a lot to deal with.

“Nonsense,” Ma said and walked over to take his hand in hers. He let her pull him to Hayes and me. “You get in here and hug with us.”

Jamie stood between Hayes and me. I felt his hand clutch the back of my shirt.

“I was just telling my boys how happy I am for them,” Ma said. “And you as well.”

“You really don’t mind that all three of us are together?” Jamie asked. I understood why he did. It was one thing for me to say everything was fine and quite another to see it with his own two eyes.

“I don’t care how many of you there are, as long as you make each other smile. It’s not going to be easy though. The media is going to have a field day with the three of you.” She voiced something we hadn’t discussed yet—taking our relationship public. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to, but Hayes and I didn’t want to bring any more attention onto Jamie. He’d been through enough the last time he was photographed with me.

“One step at a time,” Hayes said in a serious tone. “We know there will be some challenges but it’s worth it for what we have.” His eyes held Jamie’s as he said it, no doubt trying to ease any worries Jamie might have.

His family didn’t know we were together yet. It was another reason why we didn’t push to be seen out in public with Jamie. He had enough to deal with. No need to add more.

Jamie let out a breath and leaned into Hayes.

A high-pitched voice cut through our moment. “What the hell?” Maia said and shoved in between Hayes and Jamie. “I want in on this.” Then she smiled wickedly. “I heard you met Frazier, King. I’m surprised you didn’t scare him right out the front door.”

“He met you first. If anything, I was a treat compared to you.”

“I was waiting for Eli to deck King.” Hayes chuckled. “The look on his face when King picked up Frazier was priceless.”

We broke apart but kept talking in the kitchen. My hand wound behind Jamie and I was grateful not to feel any tension in him. He’d get used to my family. We were loud, obnoxious, but we loved hard.

As we ate dinner, my eyes kept drifting to Jamie and Hayes. It always felt right to have Hayes with me Sunday nights for family meals. But Jamie being here as well made me feel whole. This perfect feeling of completeness.

This was exactly what I was hoping for. Not only were Jamie and Hayes obviously falling for one another, even though neither had admitted it yet, but Jamie meshed into my family effortlessly.

Jude elbowed me from my other side to get my attention. I leaned close to him. “I like seeing you happy, King,” he whispered. “You deserve it.”

“Thanks,” I barely got out as emotion threatened to choke me. Damn family making me tear up.

Jude smiled and went back to his meal. I poked around at my plate, but his words lingered. He was right. I was happy. Probably the happiest I’d ever been, all because of the two men who held my heart.