Page 7 of The Fortunate Ones
Brooks grinned up at him. “Thanks, Sir, but it’s not till tomorrow.”
“Well, we wanted to give you a present that wasn’t exactly family friendly,” Luca answered with a shrug.
“Yeah? I’m all about R-rated gifts. What is it?”
Luca tapped his cheek. “Nice try, sweetheart. You’ll get it soon. Now, why don’t you kneel all pretty for us again?”
Brooks nodded eagerly. He was practically bouncing, and it made me wonder how many energy drinks he’d snuck in. Luca was supposed to be monitoring that, they had agreed on it, but I had a feeling Brooks had gotten away with a lot more than he was supposed to. Eh, he’d be burning plenty of energy in just a few minutes.
Brooks knelt again, but he wasn’t nearly as still as he’d been last time. I raised an eyebrow at Luca, as discipline stuff was more his thing, but I guessed he decided to let it go for now.
“This is something Mav and I have been talking about for a while,” Luca started, speaking a little fast. “Since you and Diego came into our lives, it has been chaotic and filled with changes,and I’ve been grateful for every single minute. I know we had a rocky start and a lot of baggage between us, and I’m so lucky that you were willing to give me a second chance, to give all of us a chance.”
Brooks’s eyes widened and his shoulders set back when he realized that what was happening might be a little more significant than just sex. Not that I would call what we typically did “just sex,” but still. This was so much more than that.
“I never thought I wanted or needed a more formal dynamic with a sub. I also never thought I’d find another person I’d want to add to our poly family”—I glanced over at Wes and Diego—“let alone three. But all that changed when you sauntered into our meeting rooms full of attitude and desperation. I wanted to put you on your knees from that very second, and the feeling hasn’t lessened at all.”
Brooks laughed at that and quickly wiped his eyes, already getting emotional. I had to blink back my own tears because . . . fuck.
“We love you, Brooks, and we wanted to give you something that signified our commitment to you, how much we love you, and how much you mean to us, both in our kink dynamic and our day-to-day relationship,” Luca continued before giving me a quick nod that it was time.
I had the box hidden in one of the side pockets of my pants. Brooks let out an involuntary sound when I held it out in front of him.
I was cheesing like a fool as I snapped the lid open and tilted it down so Brooks could see his new collar clearly. “You can wear this every day. It can go in water, and it’ll fit snugly enough that you can even leave it on during your jobs. We know how much you love being marked as ours, and now you will be, always. Will you wear our collar, Brooks?”
Brooks’s shoulders were shaking and his eyes bounced back and forth between Luca, me, and then the collar. He seemed overwhelmed, and I had a brief, life-altering moment when I wondered if he’d say no, and then finally he seemed to remember we were waiting for a response.
The titanium prism ring was an array of rainbow colors that suited our boy perfectly. If the measurements were correct, which Luca had made sure they would be, the O-ring would land right above his collarbone. One small charm shaped like a knife hung there. Engraved on it were the wordsmy trouble, my brat.
“Yes! Fuck yes, Sirs. Please, put my collar on me.”
Luca laughed and mussed up Brooks’s hair.
My hands shook, and I knew this would be the closest I ever got to putting an engagement ring on someone. That had me pausing, looking at all the other men in the room. Skye was holding Luca’s hand and absolutely fucking beaming. Diego and Wes had stood up and both looked elated as they waited till we hooked the collar before coming to congratulate Brooks. And it fucking hit me. I wanted something, some kind of token like that for all of us. As Luca took the chain out of the box and secured it around Brooks’s neck, it surprised me how much I craved it. I wanted something that represented me on all the men, even the ones I had no romantic relationship with. It didn’t matter, they were all part of my family, and I wanted the world to fucking know.
Once the collar was clasped on, Brooks jumped to his feet and threw himself at me and Luca. With an armful of hyper and ecstatic boy, I put the idea to the side for now, but first thing tomorrow, I’d start working on . . . something for the whole family.
CHAPTER 3
DIEGO
Brooks was huggingme so tightly, his fingers dug into my spine. Usually, he was much more careful about touching me, but it wasn’t every day he’d just gotten the kink equivalent of married, so I could understand how his excitement was getting the best of him. Besides, I found myself not only unbothered, but easily returning the squeeze.
“So happy for you, B.”
Brooks pulled back, tears flowing freely from him. “Did you see it?” He tilted his chin up so I could get a better look.
I laughed. “I did. Luca and Mav asked for all our input.”
Skye threw his arm over Brooks’s shoulders and kissed him sloppily on the side of the jaw. “I was the one who talked them into the rainbow. This sparkles in the right light, and you need to sparkle.”
“I always sparkle.” Brooks waved his hands like spirit fingers. “I fucking love it. Thank you. All of you. I’m collared.”
“Fuck yeah, you are. It looks good on you,” Skye said, kissing him again.
Brooks shimmied, his body brushing against mine. He seemed to forget he was naked.
I braced myself, waiting for that feeling of disgust to take over. I had a man’s dick brushing against my hip. If anything was going to trigger the overwhelming nausea that seemed to hit me when I was touched, then it would be this.
