Out of Nowhere (Balls and Brawn Bodyguard #4)

39. Chapter Thirty-nine Seo-jun

Chapter Thirty-nine: Seo-jun

D ex wasn’t kidding about his family; they really were a lot. His mother was always on the phone, trying to get something done for her church or something else she was involved in, and Garfield was pretty pretentious. One of the first things he did was show Seo-jun his collection of cars in the garage. Seo-jun wanted their approval, of course, but in the long run, it really didn’t matter if he didn’t get it. He just didn’t want Dex to be unhappy.

Seo-jun and Dex had been given a room at the back of the house that overlooked acres of property with the majestic, snowcapped Rocky Mountains in the distance. On their first morning waking up there, after a restful night in the king-sized bed, they’d sat out on the balcony having coffee while watching the sun come up and a flock of turkey vultures perched in a partially dead cottonwood tree. Seo-jun was a bit fascinated with them, as he’d rarely seen vultures, and never any that looked quite like them before, with their bald, red heads and dark bodies.

“They’re ugly, but really cool at the same time,” he mused, watching the birds. When they flew, their bodies formed a V.

“Yeah, I agree. A flock of vultures is sometimes called a kettle . I think a wake , too.”

“I get wake , but kettle seems an odd word to use for them,“ Seo-jun said.

Dex shrugged. “I know. Weird, but also kind of fun to say. ‘Hey, look at the kettle of vultures in that tree!’”

Smiling, Seo-jun nodded, looking out at the hunched birds. “I’ve seen California condors. I like the red head on these. They really do resemble turkeys, in a way.”

“The only other kind of vulture is the black vulture,” Dex said.

“Is bird-watching an interest of yours?” Seo-jun asked.

“Not really. I’ve just always found birds of prey interesting.”

After they finished their coffee and got dressed, Dex and Seo-jun went downstairs to have breakfast and found Bea flitting around the big house, giving orders to “the help” like she was directing a Broadway show. Anna was sitting in the dining room while a lot of hustle and bustle went on in the large kitchen. She immediately handed the baby, who was whimpering and sucking on his hand, to Dex.

“Don’t you dare tell me that he’s hungry,” Anna said to them. “He’s been fed. I don’t know why he’s so unhappy.”

As if to illustrate that unhappiness, Sky began to wail. Anna cursed, but Dex rocked him back and forth in his arms, soothing him until he quieted.

“Why do you make that look so easy?” Anna asked. “My own child hates me.” She sniffed her t-shirt. “Gross. I smell like spit up.”

“Go take a shower. He’ll be fine with us,” Dex said.

Anna was out of the room before Seo-jun could blink again.

“She’s overwhelmed,” Dex said, then began cooing at the baby.

Bea bustled into the room. “Where’s Anna?”

“Taking a shower,” Dex told her.

Bea stood studying her son rock Sky until his little eyes slit shut and his fist unclenched. The next thing Seo-jun knew, Dex was placing the sleeping bundle in his arms.

Alarmed, Seo-jun looked up at him. “What are you doing?”

“Hold Sky while I go to the bathroom.”

Dex left the room and Seo-jun looked down at the sleeping baby. He had a head of dark hair and a tiny puckered mouth and was a comfortable weight in Seo-jun’s arms.

“You look good with a baby,” Bea said, taking a seat beside him. “Not all men do. Dex’s father always looked like he would rather be doing almost anything else when I handed Dex to him.”

“Dex said his father was very affectionate,” Seo-jun said.

“Oh, he was. Once Dex got out of diapers, Paul was much more comfortable with him. He was just scared of babies. He thought he might break them. Too bad he didn’t stick around. I know it hurt Dex a lot. A boy needs a father. That was part of the reason I married Tom.”

Seo-jun didn’t know what to say to that, so he remained silent.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get to know you better since you and Dex arrived yesterday,” Bea said.

“That’s all right. You’re understandably busy with the baby and Thanksgiving preparations,” Seo-jun said politely.

Dex’s mother was of medium height, had perfectly styled hair that was a blend of gray and brown. Her clothes were obviously expensive, and she was dressed a little more formally than one would expect at eight in the morning in their own home with only family present. Well, only family except him, but somehow Seo-jun didn’t think Bea Sommerton had dressed up for him.

“When will Garfield’s family be here?” Dex asked when he walked back into the room. He didn’t make a move to take Sky from Seo-jun, but Seo-jun found he didn’t mind.

“Sometime around noon,” Bea answered.

“Mrs. Sommerton?” An older woman poked her head out the door to the kitchen. “When you have a moment, could you come verify a few things about the menu?”

Bea got up from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”

Dex looked sexy in an old pair of jeans and a Journey sweatshirt, his brown hair barely brushed and hanging into his eyes. Looking at him conjured memories of making love to Dex the night before, their movements slow and sensual, each thrust bringing them both higher and higher until the hot clench around Seo-jun’s cock made him shout out in the silent house as he came. As soon as he pulled out of Dex’s body, Dex rolled Seo-jun onto his stomach and took him from behind, fucking him with forceful strokes until Dex came with a shudder. They’d had to go searching for clean sheets before they could sleep, both high from pleasure and giggling like kids as they tried not to wake anyone.

“You’ve got an interesting look on your face,” Dex said, when Seo-jun came out of his reverie and noticed Dex’s knowing smile.

Seo-jun felt himself blushing as their eyes met.

“It was good, wasn’t it?” Dex said, his gaze softening.

Seo-jun’s heart constricted. “I love you,” he said softly just as Bea walked into the room. She’d probably heard him, but the deeply moved expression on Dex’s face was all Seo-jun cared about. Perhaps it was best she understood the depth of his feelings for her son anyway.

Later that day, Seo-jun was sitting in Garfield’s study, a room with a large, polished desk, deep leather chairs, and a lively fire burning in the fireplace. Garfield and his brothers, Otto and Ambrose, were talking about war—both the Vietnam War, in which Otto and Ambrose enlisted, and the Korean War, in which their father had fought. Seo-jun didn’t want to imagine what they’d do if he told them he was from North Korea, not South. Probably break out the guns from Garfield’s extensive collection in the corner. Garfield, a decade younger than his brothers, who were in their late sixties, and with a hearing issue that kept him from serving, indulgingly listened to their talk while sipping his brandy. When Seo-jun heard a car pull up the driveway outside, he leaned forward slightly to see out the large window of Garfield’s study, hoping for a reason to escape the Sommerton men’s company. Three women were getting out of a dark blue Nissan Altima, and Dex and Tom approached them from the house. A short red-headed woman about Dex’s age greeted him with a hug. Seo-jun thought the two older women looked enough like her to be family.

“Ada, Cordelia and Penelope are here,” Otto, who had also turned to look out the window, said as he set his drained crystal glass on the table. Glancing at Seo-jun, he explained, “Our sisters and our niece.”

Penelope. The girl Bea had tried to fix Dex up with. Looking out the window again, he saw Dex, Tom, and the Uber driver lifting the ladies’ bags from the trunk of the Altima.

Rising from his chair, Seo-jun said, “I’ll go help them carry the bags.”

He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the hallway. Outside, the cold nipped at his face and hands, and the gray sky was spitting snow. His eyes were drawn from it to Penelope, who, he could now see, had a sprinkling of freckles over her nose and was chatting animatedly with Dex as she hefted a satchel over her shoulder.

“Let me help you with that,” Seo-jun said, taking it from her.

“Oh, thank you,” Penelope said.

“Penelope, this is, Seo-jun,” Dex introduced him. “Seo-jun, Penelope, Garfield’s niece.”