Leo moaned and turned in King’s arms to face him, slipping an arm around King’s waist and holding him close, their legs intertwined as Leo buried his face in King’s neck with a hum.

  “Good morning, sweetheart.”

  “Great morning,” Leo murmured half-awake. “You slept in.”

  King tended to get up much earlier than Leo, as Leo was not a morning person. He tended to stay up later than King and wake up later, whereas King was usually up before the sun rose, but somehow that worked for them. It gave King time to go through his morning workout routine, check his email, sort a few work things out, and make breakfast, all by the time Leo shuffled into the kitchen, hair sticking up as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. At night it meant King woke up to Leo either snuggling in close or starting something that would end with them getting hot and sticky.

  This morning, King woke up and decided to stay in bed. “Ace is making breakfast.”

  “That didn’t answer my unasked question.”

  King chuckled. “It just felt too good being here with you. Decided to stay.”

  Those three little words lingered in the air between them, their true meaning enough to have Leo rolling King onto his back and straddling him. He gazed down at King, his eyes searching for the truth in those words. King was staying. The logistics of how things would work between Leo being on the west coast of Florida and King on the east coast would be looked into later.

  King placed his hands on Leo’s thighs, caressing his skin and the fine hairs on his legs. The question was there in Leo’s big brown eyes. They’d find a way to work it out. “How about some breakfast?”

  Leo nodded, planting a quick kiss on King’s lips before climbing off him. Was Leo disappointed? Was he expecting more? A declaration? Not knowing how to navigate this thing between them was frustrating. Communication was key in any relationship, and he’d learned the importance of opening up and talking things out, but this was different. Why was he having so much trouble articulating his feelings for Leo?

  With a grunt, he got up and used the bathroom after Leo, who was a little too quiet for King’s liking. When they joined the guys in the dining room for breakfast, it was obvious something was wrong, but King had no idea what. He was pouring himself some coffee when Ace nudged up next to him.

  “What happened?”

  King glanced over his shoulder at Leo, who was giving Chip a piece of bacon, the guys looking worried and uncertain of what to do. Lucky and Joker tried to get Leo to smile with their shenanigans while Jack tried to draw him out of his pensive thoughts by talking to him about some new gadget. When nothing seemed to work, Red put a hand to Leo’s shoulder, murmuring something quietly. Leo excused himself and hurried upstairs. Four pairs of eyes glared at King from the table.

  “What did you do?” Lucky asked.

  “I didn’t do anything,” King hissed quietly as he joined them.

  Red sighed. “Maybe that’s the problem.”

  Ace sat down, his worried gaze on the stairs where Leo had disappeared. “King, it’s obvious he’s in love with you.”

  King blinked at him. “What?”

  “Come on, bro.” Lucky shook his head at him. “How can you not see it?”

  “I knew he was attached, I just, I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything.”

  Jack stared at him like he was missing a few marbles. “Of course he hasn’t. You have to put yourself in his shoes, King. You’re the captain of the football team turned Green Beret, and he’s the science nerd who got shoved into lockers. You really think he’s going to stand in front of you and tell you he’s in love with you?”

  “Listen to Jack. He’s speaking from experience,” Joker said, receiving a punch in the arm from Jack. “What? It’s the truth.”

  “This science nerd is going to shove his foot up your ass if you don’t shut up,” Jack growled.

  King’s frown was deep. “This isn’t high school.”

  “That won’t erase years of bad experiences,” Ace said gently. “How long has it taken him to believe that you really are into him? That you care about him? Or that we like him and aren’t just putting up with him for your sake?”

  King nodded. Ace was right. Leo struggled with his confidence, though with every passing day he grew bolder, surer of himself. Except when it came to King keeping him. Did he think it was nothing but sex between them? Surely, King hadn’t given him that impression.

  “I thought he knew,” King said, releasing a heavy sigh. “I figured he could feel it.”

  “Look,” Lucky said, drawing King’s attention. “Some of us? We are not so good at using words to express how we feel, and in the moment when you are, you know, together, it’s okay, you both feel it, but then the doubts creep in and you worry that maybe it was just that—in the moment. He needs to know, King. Even if you are not ready to say those three little words, he needs to know he means something to you. That you won’t walk away when this is over.”

  The room was quiet, a rare occurrence when they were all together, the severity of the situation evident to them all. If King wasn’t careful, he could ruin this, and he couldn’t stand the thought of pushing Leo away. How was it he could run into a war zone with explosives going off around him, ammunition gone, and not blink, yet put a slightly awkward young man with plump pink lips, glasses, and big brown eyes in front of him, and suddenly he had no idea what the fuck to do?

  Thankfully, the silence didn’t last long. Ace grinned brightly at King. “Look at us being all adult and shit, helping you with your love life.”

  King’s lips quirked up at the corners. He silently thanked Ace for the reprieve and stood. Red took hold of his arm, his eyes filled with concern.

  “What’s this really about, King?”

  King cleared his throat. “Nothing. I’m not ready to make any declarations.”

  Ace’s eyes went wide, and he cursed under his breath. “Shit. I can’t believe I didn’t see it.”

  Jack frowned at Ace. “What are you talking about?”

  King dropped back down into his chair and ran his hands over his face. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to get anything past his brothers. There was nothing King wasn’t afraid to face head-on. Except this. “Red’s right. This isn’t just about my not wanting to tell him how I feel. I’m—”

  “Scared,” Ace finished for him.

  “Why would you be—” Jack’s eyes widened, and he cursed. “Yeah, okay. This is way more complicated than we thought.”

  Lucky looked between his brothers. “I don’t understand.”

  When Ace spoke, the word was barely a whisper. “Syria.”

  “Oh fuck.” Lucky sat back, a hand going to his head. “I didn’t think of that.”

  “You have to tell him,” Ace said, leaning in, his gold-green eyes filled with concern. “He can’t not know, King. Not if you two are going to have a real future together.”

  “It’s not my place to tell. When this is over, I’ll talk to the General, tell him I’m involved with his son and that I need to come clean.” And hope Leo will still want me. The unspoken words hung in the air like a thick fog.

  “What if the General doesn’t want you to tell him?” Joker asked.

  King stood. “Then I have to ask myself, does my loyalty lie with the General or with his son?”

  “If you need us,” Red pitched in softly, “you know where to find us.”

  King patted Red’s shoulder in thanks, his heart in his throat at how very fortunate he was to have his brothers. He headed upstairs, ready to tell Leo something. What he walked into was unexpected, to say the least. Leo looked… pissed.

  “Shit. No, no, no. Come on. Please don’t, please don’t, please—” Leo jumped from his chair, fingers curled around fistfuls of his hair. “Fuck! Fuck!” He kicked his chair, and King hurried over. It wasn’t like Leo to lose his cool like this. Occasionally when something went wrong, he cursed under his breath, ranted a little, bit the head off one of his fish-shaped snacks, but nothing like this.

  “Hey, take it easy. What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

  Leo shook his head. “This stupid—” He let out a frustrated growl and tried to avoid King, but King wasn’t about to let Leo retreat back into his shell. Not after everything they’d been through and how far Leo had come.

  “Leo, talk to me,” King demanded gently, tugging on Leo’s sweater and carefully pulling Leo into his arms. He brushed his lips over Leo’s temple, coaxing his infuriated little wildcat. “Please.”

  With a huff, Leo let his head fall against King’s chest. He shook his head, but King would wait all day if he had to. Several deep breaths and exhales later, Leo lifted his gaze.

  “I’ve completed four of the six pieces, but this damned fifth piece is driving me fucking crazy. I’m not implementing the right coding, so I keep getting kicked out, which means I need to start the damn thing all over again. What if I can’t get it? What if I’m not as smart or as good as everyone thinks I am? I don’t… I can’t—” He sucked in a sharp breath, his face turning red, and his eyes filling. “I can’t….”

  “You can and you will.”

  “No, I can’t,” Leo replied through his teeth. “I keep screwing it up. Maybe it’s a sign.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This program is dangerous. What if it falls into the wrong hands? What if turning it over to the government is putting it in the wrong hands? With the right coding, it isn’t just capable of spying on terrorists, but on anyone, including our own people. If you knew the whole truth of what this thing is capable of, you’d be terrified. No, you’d be sick. And I’m the one creating it for them. Then there’s the other side of it. The one that’ll protect our operatives, soldiers like you, like the guys, my dad. It could stop an attack. I keep going back and forth, back and forth. I thought about making it so the code couldn’t be altered, but what if they find out? I don’t know what to do anymore.” Leo shut his eyes tight and curled his fingers around fistfuls of his hair.

  “Leo, look at me.”

  Swallowing hard, Leo opened his eyes and met King’s gaze. King hated seeing the doubt in his eyes. No one was harder on Leo than Leo. He rubbed Leo’s arms and breathed, waiting for Leo to breathe along with him. Leo had been driving himself crazy since they’d returned from Colton’s, trying to get this fifth piece of coding done, and it wasn’t happening. The growing desperation was finally getting to him.

  “If you’re worried about the program falling into the wrong hands, maybe you do what you were thinking. Make it so the code can’t be altered and call it a necessary security measure.”

  Leo seemed to consider his words. “Add so-called security measures that wouldn’t allow them to abuse the program. They asked me to build this program; they didn’t tell me how to build it or secure it. Maybe… maybe I can do something to—I don’t know. It’s still so dangerous.”

  “You can do this. You’re frustrated. You can see the finish line, and now you just want to cross it, but you need to focus on the now. Focus on what’s in front of you and not what comes next. Let it take however long it’s going to take.”

  “This needs to be done, King.” Leo pushed away from him, and King let him go. “I need to be done with this. I want my life back. I want them gone. I need….”

  “What do you need?” King asked softly.

  Leo stopped pacing, his shoulders falling. “You.”

  “I’m right here.”

  “For how long?” Leo’s anger caught King by surprise. It didn’t last, though, and Leo’s shoulders dropped as he deflated again. “Besides, you’re only here because you have to be.”

  King frowned. “What’s this about?”

  “You’re here because you have to be,” Leo snapped, “because you’re doing my father a favor. You have no choice.”

  King crossed his arms over his chest. “I always have a choice. You think I’m here for your father?”

  Leo turned to him, fear in his eyes, yet he was pushing King or at least trying to. He was frustrated, angry, afraid, and lashing out. Whatever he thought he could achieve by this wasn’t going to happen.

  “The way I see it, your father brought us together.”

  Leo’s eyebrows shot up near his hairline.

  “Don’t look so surprised. Your father may have brought me into this project, and yes, it started as a favor to him, but that quickly changed, and you know it. You became the reason I stayed, the reason I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. If lashing out at me makes you feel better, knock yourself out, but you’re going to finish this project because you’re a fucking genius, and I have every faith in you. Also, I need a date for the wedding.”

  Leo opened his mouth, then closed it. “Wait, what? What wedding?”

  “Ace and Lucky’s cousin Quinn is getting married on Valentine’s Day to his boyfriend, Spencer. No one expects me to bring a plus one, but I think this new year might surprise us all.”

  Leo squinted at him. “You want me to be your date to a wedding on Valentine’s Day?”

  “Isn’t that what I said?”

  “Yeah, okay, smart guy. I heard you.” Leo crossed his arms over his chest, his pose mimicking King’s. After seeming to mull it over, Leo cast him a sideways glance. “Why?”

  King frowned at him as if it was obvious. “Who else would I bring?”

  “Not good enough.” Leo kept his arms crossed over his chest, his chin lifted and his stance wide. Well now. Someone was feeling very bold. King stalked over to him, loving the way Leo swallowed hard but didn’t budge. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  King stopped in front of Leo, their bodies barely touching. He grinned down at Leo. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. Time to grow a pair, Kingston.”

  King let out a bark of laughter and threw his arms around Leo, squeezing him close. “Fuck, you’re amazing. Okay, how about this. I want you to go as my date because when you’re seeing someone, they become your plus one to things like this. If I have to face Ace’s family and be interrogated about everything from the last meal I ate to who the cute guy with the glasses who came with me is, it’s only right that my boyfriend suffer along with me. That’s how it works.”

  Leo’s jaw went slack. “I’m sorry, I think I might be hallucinating. Did you say you want me to go as your… boyfriend?”

  King chuckled and brushed his lips over Leo’s cheek. “Yes, Leo. When this is over, I want to keep seeing you. I care about you, a lot, more than I’ve ever cared for someone who isn’t family. I know they’re probably not the words you want to hear, but I hope knowing that you, and only you, have my heart, along with the rest of me, will be enough for now.”

  Leo held his gaze, his eyes searching King’s for the truth in his words. He cocked his head to one side, appearing to mull it over. A mischievous little smile spread across his face. “It’s enough. For now.”

  Leo kissed him, and King surrendered to the love and affection pouring out of Leo, his arms wrapping around King’s neck to keep him close. King had no intention of going anywhere. He wasn’t going to mess this up. Leo was a gift, one he never thought he would receive. Once this was over, he’d make things right between them. Whatever the General’s answer, King would come clean to Leo, and whether they had a future or not would be in Leo’s hands.

  “Okay, time to get back to it,” Leo said with a sigh as he pulled away. “Just two more pieces and then testing.”

  “You can do it. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

  Leo nodded and returned to his desk. It was close to noon now, so King whipped Leo up a sandwich and some chips, and the rest of the day went on like it usually did, with Leo typing away at his computer and King making sure he had everything he needed—water, food, and snacks. They all had dinner together, despite Leo wanting to keep working, but King played dirty, and with a few strategically placed kisses managed to convince Leo to come downstairs and eat a proper meal with them.

  It was late and around the time Leo would start craving a snack. Instead of heading into the kitchen to grab Leo a bag of his favorite Goldfish crackers, an idea popped into King’s head.

  The guys would be working in shifts tomorrow to spend some time with their men since they were all spending New Year’s Eve at Leo’s apartment. King stepped up to Ace, who was in the kitchen making some coffee, and although King was probably going to get teased mercilessly for it, he asked his best friend for a favor. Ace blinked at him before his smile spread wide, and King braced himself. When Ace didn’t say anything, King sighed.

  “Say whatever you’re thinking.”

  “I was thinking what a sweet gesture that is.”

  King eyed him warily. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it. I’ll be back in no time. Red can help you with the other stuff in the meantime. The ingredients you need to get started are all here.” Ace headed out, and King stared after him.

  “You okay?” Red asked, stepping up beside him.

  “He didn’t crack a joke, tease me, or make a smartass comment.”

  Red stared at the door Ace had disappeared through. “Did you break him?”

  King told Red his idea for surprising Leo, and Red smiled.

  “That’s really sweet.”

  King opened his mouth to reply, but his phone went off. “Hello?”

  “Did you want me to get a little fishing pole-shaped one to signify his reeling you in?”

  And there it is. “You’re an ass,” King grunted, hanging up on Ace and his cackling. He turned to Red. “Thanks for helping me.”

  “No problem. Leo’s going to love it.”

  King sure hoped so. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he wanted to do something to encourage Leo, and the idea just popped into his head. By the time he and Red had finished making the dough, Ace had returned with the cookie cutter and sprinkles. Once everything was done, King thanked the guys, headed upstairs, and placed the plate of fish-shaped sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles on Leo’s desk for when Leo came out of his zone. It was sooner than he expected—as in the moment King moved his hand away from the plate.