Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

Ben and Chase watched the screen, sitting apart from the rest. Ben had been quieter than usual for the last week, but he hadn’t neglected his duties. Kitten sat between them, a new charm around her neck. Shelley had been utterly unwilling to give the old one back, though Kitten hadn’t seen the problem. He really needed to work on her hard limits.

Kitten was without a leash this evening, and she looked shockingly normal in jeans and a sweater, her face free of the heavy makeup she usually wore. She seemed closer to her twenty-five years than normal. She looked young and happy. Kitten smiled up at him. “Hello, Mas…Hello, Leo.”

Ah, progress, sweet progress. “Hello, Kitten. You look lovely tonight.”

“Thank you. Kitten is…I am very happy. I’m ready to go back to work. I’ve even spent the week practicing answering the phone and taking messages. I’m going to be a good administrative assistant. And I found out good news. I’m getting rewarded for helping Shelley. Though I did it because it was the right thing to do. Master Julian is bringing in a new Dom for me to try out.”

Chase looked up. “According to Julian, the man’s a real sadist, but a deeply controlled one. He intends to work with Kitten on her issues while meeting her needs. I believe he’s going to call to schedule a meeting with you in a week or two. You’ll have to clear him for play.”

Ben ruffled Kitten’s hair affectionately. “Make sure he’s a good one. She deserves it.”

Leo was looking forward to meeting the man.

Julian stepped to the front of the room where the big screen was set up and held out his hands. “My friends, my dearest family, I want to thank you all for coming out to watch this news clip. My friends at the network sent it to me early in thanks for giving them the scoop. It’s going to air tonight, but I wanted you all to be the first to see it. Shelley, dear, this is for you.”

The tape rolled, and Leo felt his fists clench. Senator Mitchell Cross’s smiling face came on in a box next to a thin, blonde newswoman in a perfectly pressed suit. Cross. If there was one thing Leo had become certain of, it was that Cross had something to do with Shelley’s kidnapping.

“This news station has received an exclusive tape of Senator Mitchell Cross making an under-the-table deal with the controversial security company White Acres. According to our sources, the deal sold out US security interests in the Middle East and Africa. The tape, received from an anonymous source, clearly shows the Senator accepting cash for pushing through a multimillion dollar contract on the taxpayer’s dime. This tape also indicates that previously rumored shady business dealings with White Acres are rooted in fact. The company contact, recently deceased Steve Holder, plainly states that White Acres is involved in smuggling blood diamonds out of Africa.”

The news anchor continued. Leo watched Shelley’s jaw drop, and Wolf’s arms wrapped around her. It was one of the things Leo had rapidly grown to love about the ménage he found himself in. Wolf was taking care of their fiancée so he could go and kick his boss’s ass.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Julian’s eyes never left the screen. “You’ve been busy. I wanted this to be my little wedding gift to you. I hear you’re making it official sometime in the near future.”

Yeah, and that was already causing him some trouble. “Don’t even suggest The Club. I can’t do it here. Ma won’t get on a plane and driving through alien territory is dangerous this time of year.”

Julian’s lips tugged up. “Yes, I had heard you were having trouble.”

“So we’re just going to elope. Shelley’s not happy about it, but I don’t know what else to do.” Shelley had cried a little, but she’d agreed.

Julian sighed, a long thoughtful noise that Leo recognized as the sound of his mind plotting away. “Well, you could make your mother happy. And Shelley’s brother.”

“You think I should have the wedding in Bliss? Julian, have you ever been to Bliss? It’s…it’s Bliss.”

“I think I can handle it. You know Stefan Talbot and I are quite friendly. He might have mentioned that June is the perfect time for weddings in Bliss.”

That was more than six months away, but it would make everyone happy. Trev could give his sister away. Ma would be able to throw a huge party. Yes, Leo knew an opportunity when he saw one. He smiled. “You’re going to take over this whole thing aren’t you?”

Julian shrugged. “If it helps, I intend to foot the bill. Oh, look, the FBI had to drag him out of his office.” Julian put a hand to his heart. “I feel warm inside. No one ever lets me do this anymore. Do you understand how deeply I enjoy screwing people like Cross over? I need to recommit. Marriage has made me soft.”

Leo laughed. It bubbled up inside him. “I’ll make sure to put that on your list, boss. More stabbing the bad guys in the back.”

“I make no apologies for that,” Julian admitted. “Stabbing people to the front is far too dangerous. I am a family man, after all.”

The room erupted in cheers as the feds finally got the senator into a car, but Leo was stuck on two words.

Family man.

He’d run from his own, but they had blissfully refused to let him get too far. And now he’d found another. His wife, his brother. All of his brothers—Julian and Ben and Chase and Jack and Sam and Aidan and Lucas. Even Logan, who was working hard now, trying to find himself again.

Something odd was happening. His face felt puffy. His eyes watered. Oh, god, it was happening. Yep. He was going to cry. He fought it.

“Happens to the best of us,” Julian said with a grin.

Shelley turned, her beautiful face smiling at him.

He didn’t know about being the best, but he was damn glad it had happened to him.

THE END

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