Epilogue

Rico

I slowly peeled my eyes open when I felt Anurak shifting against me, little whines spilling from his lips. I quickly leaned up on my elbow, ready to shake him awake, but then Ace slid forward and cuddled up closer to him, gently shh ing him until Anurak’s features smoothed back out.

And yeah… that was a thing now.

Ace and Anurak had bonded. Deeply. It had gone beyond friendship, just as I knew it would, and somehow, the two boys had fallen in love with each other. It’d been a gradual, slow thing that had happened over the span of the last few months. Gunner nor I had truly seen anything really happening until we walked in on Ace and Anurak softly kissing.

My little puppy had panicked, pleading for forgiveness, and Ace had looked destroyed when Anurak swore it would never happen again. Gunner had hurried to console Ace, and right then, I had to make a decision. A tough decision. Because fuck all knew I didn’t want to share my boy. He was mine .

But he’d become Ace’s, too. And I could never be so selfish with Anurak as to make him go without someone he loved. If I did, he’d lose Ace. I knew that.

And he needed Ace. He needed Ace’s softness and the way Ace coddled him. Ace was feral and one hundred percent a brat, but he loved and adored Anurak with every fiber of his being. And since I’d let them have this and Gunner had agreed it was needed for both of them, I’d never seen Anurak so happy and settled and at peace .

So at peace. And that was what I wanted for him above all.

“He okay?” Gunner asked quietly from behind Ace, his voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah,” I quietly replied, laying back down and banding my arm back around Anurak, pulling him back flush against me. He made a soft, contented sound, and I smiled a little, pressing a kiss to the back of his head.

When I woke up again, Ace and Anurak were gone. Gunner was slipping out of bed. I sighed and sat up, scrubbing my hands over my face and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Where the fuck are they?” I muttered as I flung the blankets back. Ace had a habit of getting my boy into mischief when they were left to their own devices.

Gunner shrugged, tugging his jeans up his legs. I yanked my sweats off the floor, tugging them on. That was something that hadn’t changed, at least. Gunner and I had no romantic feelings toward each other. He thought Anurak was sweet and cute, just as I thought Ace was sort of adorably bratty, but we also weren’t romantically interested in each other’s partners, nor were we interested in each other.

“Probably downstairs causing mischief,” Gunner said before he opened the door and began heading downstairs. After brushing my teeth, I headed after him. They were all gathered in the kitchen. Gunner had started on breakfast, and both boys were seated at the bar with mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. Anurak was leaning on Ace’s shoulder, but when he noticed me, he immediately sat up, beaming at me.

He was so damn perfect. There was never a time I looked at him and didn’t think he was worthy of the whole fucking world.

“Hi, Papi,” he greeted, tilting his chin up for a kiss, which I eagerly gave him. I’d never deny him love and adoration.

“Good morning, perrito ,” I murmured. “How long have you been up?”

“Only long enough to make hot cocoa,” he told me. “Gunner is making us breakfast.”

“You’re needed back at the clubhouse this morning, sweet boy,” Gunner reminded Ace. “So, once you eat, we need to head back.”

Ace huffed. “My brothers can fuck off.”

I snorted because I agreed and ruffled his hair before heading to the Keurig to make myself a cup of coffee. “I’m sure Jax would love to hear you tell him that,” I told him. Besides Ace, Jax was the only person I held any respect for in that club. And he wasn’t afraid to put Ace in his place when he was being a brat.

Ace snorted, and I just knew he was rolling his eyes because Gunner shot him a warning look. “Jax is just a dick,” Ace said.

Gunner sighed. “Jax would also tell me to put you over my knee and spank your little ass red for calling him a dick, so keep on, baby.”

Anurak made a squeaky noise, and when I turned to look at him, Ace was already cuddling him close, a sweet smile on his lips as he looked at our boy. “Don’t worry, little bunny. Rico would never put his hands on you like that. It’s not like he has any reason to. You’re seriously the goodest boy to ever exist.”

Anurak scrunched up his nose at Ace. “You make me sound like a dog.” My lips twitched with an aborted smile. Anurak really was the “goodest boy”, even if calling him that did make him sound like a dog.

Ace snickered, then planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Rico does call you a puppy.”

“Not because he’s a dog,” I quickly said, not wanting Anurak to start overthinking his pet name. “I call him that because when I saw him for the first time, he was being forced to crawl down a set of stairs, and he reminded me of a wounded puppy.” I looked at Anurak. “I wanted to bring you home and protect you and slaughter everyone who hurt you or had a hand in hurting you.”

His cheeks pinkened, and his eyes watered with unshed tears. “You did, Papi.”

I smiled at him. “You’re right. I did. And I will always do that.” I nodded toward his cocoa. “Drink your hot cocoa, perrito , before it becomes cold.”

Like the “goodest boy” Ace had called him, Anurak quickly grabbed his mug and took a sip, humming in happiness. I finished making my coffee, then poured Gunner a cup, sliding it to him. He nodded once in thanks.

“Need me to bring breakfast to your office?” he asked me.

“Nah,” I told him. “Just make sure they eat. I’ll grab something in a bit.” Rounding the kitchen island, I dropped a kiss to Anurak’s hair. “Come to my office when you’re done eating and they’ve gone home. I want company while I work.”

He smiled at me. “Okay, Papi.”

I lightly shucked my knuckles beneath his chin, then left the kitchen, heading toward my office to go bury myself in work for the day. And maybe later when I needed a stress reliever, I’d get my little pup on his knees for me.

His mouth was fucking sinful. And addicting.